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.
