Optical properties and radiation protection applications of B2O3:Na2O:PbO:Tb2O3:Bi2O3 glass system

Abstract

Glass is a versatile material with diverse structures and technological applications depending on composition and attributes. In the present study, the optical, physical, and radiation-interaction-response parameters of 70B2O3: 10Na2O: 15PbO: (5-x)Tb2O3: xBi2O3, with x = 2, 3, 4, 1nd 5 mol% glasses prepared using the melt-and-rapidly cool method were assessed and studied. The mass attenuation coefficients ( ∕ ) were evaluated for 0.2, 0.662, and 1.25 MeV photons with the aid of XCOM. The density of the glass system increased from 3.61 g/cm3 to 3.70 g/cm3 as the molar ratio of Bi2O3 relative to Tb2O3 increased from 0.67 to 5. Also, the molar volume of the glasses increased from 29.958 cm3/mol to 35.973cm3/mol for the same molar ratio increase. The refractive index of the BNPBTx glasses increased from about 2.22 to 2.5. The molar refractivity and polarizability increased with Bi2O3 content within the range of 16.98–20.69 cm3/mol and 6,74 × 10–24–8.21 × 10–24cm3, respectively. Other estimated optical parameters showed variations in contrast to glass chemical content. The ∕ vary within the range 0.0566–0.4720 for BNPBT1; 0.0568 0.4898 for BNPBT2; 0.0570–0.5074 for BNPBT3; and 0.0572–0.5246 cm2/g for BNPBT4. The increase in the Bi2O3/Tb2O3 concentration ratio improved the gamma photon and neutron interaction prowess of BNPBT glasses. The investigated glasses showed better radiation shielding abilities compared to existing shielding glasses. They are thus recommended for radiation control and optical applications