Abstract Amorphous layers and bulk glasses of 40TeO2–
(60 - x)V2O5–xNiO compositions with 0 B x B 30 (in
mol%) have been prepared using the usual blowing tech-
nique and press-melt quenching method, respectively. The
optical absorption spectra of the layers have been recorded
in the wavelength range 400–800 nm. The fundamental
absorption edge has been identified from the optical
absorption spectra. The optical band gap, width of the tail
of the localized states, and refractive index have been
evaluated using available theories. Results show that the
values of optical band gap decrease from 2.02 to 1.64 eV
as the contribution of NiO increases. The refractive index
dispersion is fitted to the single oscillator model, and
results show that the static refractive index increase from
1.309 to 1.673 as the NiO content increases. The glass
transition temperature, density, and molar volume have
been studied, indicating act of NiO as network modifier.
Values of theoretical optical basicity are also reported.