Insights into the structure and dynamics of the binary As-Se glass system h
ave been obtained from high-temperature Se-77 nuclear magnetic resonance (N
MR) studies of molten samples. In materials having As contents < 20 at.%, d
ynamic exchange averaging processes are detected and analysed quantitativel
y by detailed lineshape simulations. At high-temperatures (1.5 x glass tran
sition temperature), only a single averaged Se-77 NMR signal is observed, w
hose chemical shift arises from the quantitative distribution of As-Se and
Se-Se bonds. A detailed analysis of the compositional dependence reveals a
tendency towards chemical ordering, based on the structurally dominant AsSe
3/2 groups. Furthermore, the experimental data serve to differentiate betwe
en various intermediate range ordering scenarios and favor a structural des
cription in terms of a network in which AsSe3/2 and Se-2/2 groups are rando
mly linked. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.