Bismuth(III) oxide and boron(III) oxide substitution in bismuth-boro-zinc glasses: A focusing in nuclear radiation shielding properties

Abstract

Doping the glass structure with Bi2O3 `is known to increase structural stability, and to drastically alter physical parameters including density and molar volume. The goal of this work was to assess the nuclear radiation attenuation competences of several types of glasses based on the xBi2O3-(70-x)B2O3-8BaO-16ZnO-5.5SiO2- 0.5Sb2O3 system. In order to determine the requisite gamma shielding parameters, as well as effective conductivity at 300 K and buildup factors, five different glasses with varied Bi2O3 concentration (i.e., from 10 mol.% to 30 mol.%) were examined thoroughly. These critical parameters were determined using the Phy-X/PSD program. In addition, factors such as half value layer (HVL), tenth value layer (TVL), and mean free path (mfp) were examined over a wide energy range of 0.015–15 MeV. The findings revealed that the amount of Bi2O3 reinforced in each sample is critical in determining the samples' shielding abilities. The linear attenuation coefficients (µ) and mass attenuation coefficient (µm) values were reported in the highest level for the sample with the highest Bi2O3 content. For glass sample A5, the lowest mean free path, half value layer, and tenth value layer values were also reported. The effective conductivity and effective atomic number had an inverse relationship with photon energy, meaning that as energy increased, the effective conductivity and effective atomic number declined fast, especially in low-energy regions. The greatest values for both parameters were found in glass sample A5. Furthermore, the exposure buildup factor and energy absorption buildup factor values for glass sample A5 were the lowest. A5 glass sample with the chemical composition 30Bi2O3-(70−30) B2O3-8BaO-16ZnO-5.5SiO2- 0.5Sb2O3 and a density of 5.8391 g/cm3 was found to have exceptional gamma-ray attenuation qualities, according to our findings. It can be concluded that the prospective attributes of Bi2O3-doped glass systems and associated glass compositions would be beneficial for scientific community in terms of providing a clearer view for some advanced applications of these glass types.