Design and evaluation of borate glasses doped with multiple components for effective low-energy radiation shielding

Abstract

The present study aims at examining the low-energy radiation shielding properties of a Bi 2 O 3 - and ZnO-doped borosilicate [(61-x) B 2 O 3 -10ZnO-10BaO-5TiO 2 -(14+x) Bi 2 O 3 ; x = 4, 8, 12, and 16 mol%] glass system. The mechanical characteristics of the produced glasses were evaluated using the Makishima–Mackenzie theory. The study shows that substituting part of B 2 O 3 with Bi 2 O 3 reduces the microhardness and mechanical moduli of the glasses. Additionally, radiation shielding factors were determined to investigate the relationship between Bi 2 O 3 and B 2 O 3 content and the glasses' low-energy gamma-ray shielding performance, as well as the influence of the radiation source energy on the glass properties. The results demonstrated a positive correlation between increasing Bi 2 O 3 concentration and the linear attenuation coefficients (LAC) of the glasses. The glass sample containing 18 mol% Bi 2 O 3 led to the lowest LAC values, whereas the sample with 30 mol% Bi 2 O 3 led to the highest. Furthermore, the mean free path (MFP) of the glasses was compared to that of commercial glasses to assess their effectiveness in low-energy radiation protection. The glass with the highest Bi 2 O 3 content had the lowest MFP and thus provided better protection than some commercial alternatives. • Low-energy shielding properties of Bi 2 O 3 doped borosilicate glasses were studied. • Positive relation between the amount of Bi 2 O 3 in the glasses and LAC was reported. • The glass which contains 18 mol% of Bi 2 O 3 has the lowest LAC values. • The glass with the highest Bi 2 O 3 component has low MFP values.