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This study presents the results of an investigation into the physical, optical, and mechanical characteristics of glasses prepared from a mixture of ZnO, MgO, B2O3, and PbO. It was found that increasing the concentration of PbO in the glasses led to an increase in both the density (ρ) and molar mass (M). The addition of PbO also affected the packing arrangement of oxygen atoms in the glass network, resulting in changes to the oxygen molar volume (V o) and oxygen packing density. Furthermore, the investigation found that the optical basicity (Ʌ th) of the glass elevated with increasing PbO concentration. Finally, the behavior of the average electronegativity (χav) and electronic polarizability (αo−2{\alpha }_{{\rm{o}}}^{-2}) with respect to the concentration of PbO in the glasses is discussed, whereby the addition of PbO affected the glasses’ mechanical characteristics as follows: (i) the addition of PbO increased the complexity of the glass network by enhancing the average cross-link density (nc̅\bar{{n}_{{\rm{c}}}}) and the number of bonds per unit volume of the glasses (n b); (ii) the glasses’ Young’s modulus (E), bulk modulus (B), and shear modulus (G) declined as the mol percent of the PbO increased; (iii) the longitudinal modulus (L) reduced but remained greater than G; (iv) the glass network cross-linking reduced the Poisson ratio (σ); (v) the glasses’ fractal bond connectivity (d) values indicated a three-dimensional network; and (vi) lead oxide hardened the glass, suggesting that a stronger structure manifests. These findings collectively demonstrate that PbO improves the rigidity and interconnectivity of glass. The gamma radiation-shielding characteristics of the glasses were evaluated using the Phy-X software in the 0.015–15 MeV energy range. The radiation-shielding properties of the studied glasses can be compared with other materials by introducing a new parameter known as the radiation coefficient ratio (R). It is observed that Q4 glass sample had superior shielding performance.

The glasses' density, molar volume, and molecular weight increase with increasing lead concentration for the PbO–Bi2O3–ZnO–B2O3 glasses. The ion concentration and field strength increase with increasing PbO concentration. Changes in the packing density and oxygen molar volume suggest network changes of a structural nature. The increase in optical basicity and decrease in electronegativity values indicate a higher electron-donating tendency of the glasses with increased concentration of PbO, while the increase in electronic polarizability suggests greater distortion susceptibility due to an externally located electric field. Makishima-Mackenzie's theory was used to study the outcome of lead oxide concentration on the glass's mechanical properties. The increase in PbO concentration results in increased network complexity and stiffness, together with elevated dissociation energy. However, this also results in a decrease in packing density and elastic moduli. The Poisson ratio decreases, indicating cross-linking in the glass network, and the fractal bond connectivity parameter indicates a three-dimensional network. The radiation shielding capability has been compared to other glasses as well and it is found that 70PbO–10Bi2O3–10ZnO–10B2O3 sample is a superior choice for radiation shielding glass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the structural, optical and luminescence studies of Dy3+–Eu3+ co-doped glass ceramics that are obtained via thermal treatment method. The initial confirmation on glass ceramics with the formation of NaBSiO4 crystalline phase was made through XRD study. The FTIR study showed the vibrations of network formers (B2O3, SiO2) and other functional groups. The quantity of non-bridging oxygens (NBOs) are increased in the glass ceramics with increase in annealing temperature. The absorption spectra (UV–visible-NIR) showed the possible transitions of Dy3+ and Eu3+ ions in the glass ceramics. A red-shift in the absorption band-edge and reduction in the optical band gap values were obtained for glass ceramics owing to their heating temperatures. Photoluminescence studies showed the excitations of Dy3+ and Eu3+ ions under 575 nm and 613 nm emission wavelengths. The obtained NaBSiO4 crystalline phase in the glass ceramics has enhanced the luminescence intensity, and lifetimes of Dy3+ and Eu3+ ions compared to unheated precursor glass when excited under 350 nm and 393 nm. Color chromaticity diagram and correlated color temperature (CCT) values showed a shift in the color of light from warm white of precursor glass to neutral white of glass ceramics. The overall results justify the possibility of considering the Dy3+-Eu3+ co-doped glass ceramics as efficient materials for solid-state lighting applications like W-LEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bi2O3–PbO–CdO–B2O3 glasses were shaped via the melt-quenching process. The XRD spectra reveal that the glasses are composed of amorphous material. Four distinct bands may be seen in the FTIR spectra at wavelengths between 400 and 600, 600–800, 800–1200, and 1200–1500 cm−1 range. This is due to a variety of bond stretching and vibration modes present in the system. A Monte Carlo simulation was used to verify the radiation shielding capabilities. The µ values grow as the amount of Bi2O3 in the manufactured glasses increases. The rise in µ values was coupled with a drop in the Δ0.5 values when the Bi2O3 concentration was increased. Additionally, the TF and RPE values were influenced by the enhancement in the µ values, with the RPE increasing from 34.61 to 44.42 percent and the TF values decreasing from 65.39 to 55.58 percent at 0.662 MeV when the Bi2O3 concentration was increased. The study showed that raising the Bi2O3 content improves the shielding capabilities. Thus, the produced glass samples, particularly BPCB25, exhibit excellent shielding capabilities, making them suitable for use in radiation shielding fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work explores the glass system of (50 + x)PbO–5BaO–5WO3–10Na2O–(30−x)B2O3 (x: 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 mol%) for radiation shielding applications. For this purpose, five distinct glass systems (PbBaW50–PbBaW70) have been fabricated via conventional melting technique. The fabricated glass series was then investigated in terms of physical, mechanical, and photon shielding properties. According to the physical determinations, the glass density increases from 5.22881 to 6.50914 g.cm−3 as the PbO ascends from 50 to 70 mol%. On the other hand, the change of the PbO concentration in the respective samples affects the mechanical properties (Makishima and Mackenzie model) due to the change in composition and density of the samples. That is, the values of Young's, Bulk, Shear, and Longitudinal moduli are nearly the same with the slight decreasing trend for all the moduli, respectively, as the PbO increases. Further, the Poisson's ratio decreases from 0.179 to 0.171 while the value of fractural bond connectivity ranges from 3.516 to 3.624, and the hardness increases from 2.195 to 2.252 GPa with the increase in PbO concentration. For radiation shielding features, the Phy-X/PSD computations revealed that linear attenuation coefficient (LAC)@0.3029 MeV were equal to 1.627, 1.770, 1.921, 2.062, and 2.223 cm−1 for PbBaW50 to PbBaW70 samples, respectively. By considering LAC determinations, other significant parameters such as mass attenuation coefficient, half-value layer, tenth-value layer, mean free path, and effective atomic number were evaluated. As a result of these findings, one can report that the increasing doping rate of PbO leads to achieving more-performanced radiation shielding materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanical and radiation shielding properties for the PbO–MoO3–Li2O–B2O3 glass system were theoretically investigated in this paper. The PbO–MoO3–Li2O–B2O3 glass system (coded as investigated glasses) was fabricated using the melt quenching mechanism. The optical packing density (OPD) increases from 75.563 to 84.366, and oxygen molar volume (OMV) decreases from 13.234 to 11.853 cm3/mol when increasing the PbO concentration. The values of elastic moduli decreased from 47.06 to 39.67 GPa for Young, from 33.51 to 32.41 GPa for bulk, from 19.82 to 16.29 GPa for shear and from 59.94 to 54.14 GPa for longitudinal moduli as the PbO is increased. The radiation attenuation characteristics were reported at the photon energies used in diagnostic radiology. The mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) was evaluated using the three photoatomic data libraries EPICS2017, EPDL97, and XCOM, available in the EpiXS and Phy-X programs. The MAC for the five investigated glasses at 20 keV was much higher than the MAC at 40, 60 and 80 keV. The MAC for investigated glasses increased with the addition of PbO, with Pb-S1 demonstrating the lowest MAC, and Pb-S5 demonstrating the highest MAC. Additionally, the rate of the increment of MAC at 20 keV as the concentration of PbO increased was higher than that at 40, 60 and 80 keV. The effective atomic number (EAN) was determined using Phy-X program. The EAN follows the trend: Pb-S5 > Pb-S4 > Pb-S3 > Pb-S2 > Pb-S1. The EAN results proved that the glass with low amounts of B2O3 and higher amounts of PbO had good attenuation features. The EAN had the maximum values of 73.55–76.67 at 20 keV, whereas the lowest values occurred at 80 keV and varied between 53.63 and 63.39. The half-value layer (HVL) results showed that the Pb-S1 glass had the greatest HVL, while Pb-S5 had the least. There is a higher discrepancy between the tenth-value layer values at 80 keV than at 20 keV. At 20 keV, the difference between the highest and lowest TVL values (Pb-S1 and Pb-S5) was only 0.004 cm, while the difference at 80 keV was 0.152 cm. Pb-S5 is the most space-efficient radiation shield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to study the radiation shielding features of TeO2–WO3–RO systems (where RO =PbO and Bi2O3). The glasses were theoretically evaluated by using the simulation code Phy–X/PSD. Four TeO2–WO3–Bi2O3 glasses and three TeO2–WO3–PbO glasses were tested in this study. The linear attenuation coefficient (LAC), mass attenuation coefficient (MAC), effective atomic number (Zeff), half value layer (HVL), tenth value layer (TVL), and mean free path (MFP) of the glasses were calculated and analyzed. WTeBi3 and WTeBi4 have the greatest LAC and MAC values at all energies, while WTePb1 had the least LAC and MAC values. At 0.347 MeV, the MAC of the glasses is equal to 0.115 0.117, and 0.107 cm2/g for WTeBi3, WTeBi4, and WTePb1, respectively. The Zeff of the glasses decreased and increased based on the photon interaction phenomena present in low, medium, and high energy ranges. WTeBi2 has the greatest HVL, equal to 2.070 cm and 2.594 cm at 1.333 and 2.506 MeV, respectively, while WTeBi3 has the least, 1.943 cm and 2.532 cm for the same energies, respectively. The TVL values followed the order of WTePb1 < WTePb2 < WTeBi2 < WTePb3 < WTeBi1 < WTeBi3 < WTeBi4 at both the tested energies. The greatest MFPs were observed at the greatest selected energy, 2.506 MeV. The TeO2–WO3–Bi2O3 glasses and TeO2–WO3–PbO glasses were compared against each other and with some other radiation glasses to determine the most effective attenuator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through the melt-quenching process, thick, transparent, and light yellow PbO–TeO 2 –CdO glasses were fabricated, with sample densities ranging from 5.576 to 6.082 g/cm3. X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra showed that the material was amorphous, while Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra demonstrated multiple bond stretching modes and vibrational frequencies. With an increase in the mol% of PbO concentration, the derivative of absorption spectra fitting (DASF) method showed a reduction in the bandgap energies to 3.520 eV, 3.457 eV, 3.433 eV, and 3.394 eV for Pb70, Pb72.5, Pb75, and Pb77.5, respectively. For the Pb70 and Pb77.5 glasses, the transmission factor (TF) decreased with thickness. The Pb77.5 glass had the highest radiation protection efficiency (RPE), with an RPE range of 66–70% for a thickness of 1.25 cm. Moreover, the addition of PbO improved the transparency, density, and gamma-ray shielding abilities of the glasses. • Fabricated highly dense, light yellow, and transparent PbO–TeO2–CdO glasses. • Structural features studied using XRD and FTIR. • Bandgap energy decreases with increasing PbO content. • Pb77.5 glass has highest RPE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical properties, optical properties, and shielding properties were reported herein by varying the amount of bismuth (III) oxide (Bi 2 O 3) and boron oxide (B 2 O 3) on the PbO-Bi 2 O 3 -CdO- B 2 O 3 glass systems through Melt quenching technique. After altering the amount of Bi 2 O 3 density studied glass systems have varied from 4.3 g/cm3 - 5.7 g/cm3. With the addition of bismuth oxide, the density, molar volume, and oxygen packing density all rise. As bismuth concentration increases, the indirect band gap reduces, indicating structural changes in the glasses. As bismuth concentration rises, so do the refractive index (n), optical dielectric constant, and reflection loss (R L) characteristics. Ionic nature of current samples is supported by the reduction in electronegativity and rise in polarizability, which reduces the band gap. Linear attenuation coefficients (LAC), mass attenuation coefficients (MAC), half value layers (HVL), and mean free path (MFP) were calculated for photon energy range 0.015–15 MeV via exploiting Phy-X software. Containing supreme amount of Bi 2 O 3 (25% mol) studied glass systems have shown higher values of effective atomic number (Z eff), LAC, MAC along with least values of HVL and MFP considering with other studied glass systems. Results showed that deposition of Bi 2 O 3 on the studied glass systems has boosted their shielding ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The LiKBPbX glasses have been fabricated with the standard melt quenching methodology. The density and molar volume of glass systems change from 2.2057 g/cm3 to 2.9427 g/cm3 and 70.569–101.283 cm3 respectively with the increase in dopant concentration of PbO mol%. The Oxygen packing density (OPD) of prepared glasses is decreased from 75.01 to 58.108, whereas the optical basicity is increased from 0.668 to 0.772. The oxygen molar volume (OMV) of prepared samples varies from 13.33 cm3 to 17.21 cm3. The XRD spectrum represents two broad humps around 20–300 and 40–500 and absence of any sharp peak confirm that the structures of glasses are amorphous in nature. There are five bands observed in FTIR spectra from 400 to 600, 600–800, 800–1200, 1200–1500 and 1500–1800 cm−1 respectively. These bands are assigned due to the various bending and symmetric as well as asymmetric stretching vibrations of the groups present in the glassy network. The gamma ray shielding behavior has been studied for the energies from 0.015 MeV to 15 MeV. LiKBPb20 glass is the most space-efficient gamma shield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this investigation is to analyse the radiation shielding features of a SrO–B 2 O 3 –TeO 2 glass system. The glasses have the composition of 10SrO-(90-X)B 2 O 3 -XTeO 2 , where X is equal to 40, 45, 50, 55, and 60 mol%. The mass attenuation coefficients (MAC) of the samples were experimentally determined and were validated with results obtained using the Phy-X/PSD software. Narrow beam transmission geometry was utilized to obtain the experimental MAC values. When comparing the experimental and theoretical values, the results were found to strongly agree with each other. Using the MAC values, the linear attenuation coefficients (LAC) of the glasses were determined. The results demonstrated that the LAC values decrease with increasing energy, meaning that the glasses are more effective against lower energy photons. The radiation protection efficiency (RPE) showed that increasing the TeO 2 content in the glasses improves the shielding ability of the glasses. The HVL and MFP were next calculated and the SBT60 sample showed to have the lowest values at all energies, while having the greatest Z eff and N eff. Lastly, the MFP results for the SBT60 glass were compared against other common radiation shields and it was demonstrated that the sample outperformed most of the shields it was compared against. Therefore, it was concluded that the SBT60 glass has great potential as an environmentally friendly shield for radiation applications. • The radiation shielding features of a SrO–B 2 O 3 –TeO 2 glass system have been reported. • The MAC were experimentally determined and were validated with the Phy-X/PSD. • The RPE showed that increasing the TeO 2 content improves the shielding ability. • SBT60 glass has great potential as a shield for radiation applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The physical, optical, and radiation shielding properties of the SrO-SiO 2 -B 2 O 3 -ZrO 2 glass system with varying SrO and BaO compositions were investigated. The optical basicity, oxygen packing density (OPD), and oxygen molar volume (OMV) of the glasses ranges from 0.742 to 0.786, 70.408 to 66.16, and 12.202–15.114 cm3/mol respectively as the mol% concentration of BaO from 0 mol% to 40 mol%. The refractive index (n), dielectric constant (ε) and optical dielectric constant (p dp dt ) decrease sharply as BaO content increases from 0% to 10%, thereafter a slight increment in n, ε, and p dp dt is observed with an increase in BaO content from 10% to 30% and with further increase in BaO content beyond 30% again decrease in the values of n, ε, and p dp dt is observed. The molar refractivity (R m) and molar Polarizibility (α m) are affected by BaO content. In the broader perspective, R m and α m decrease sharply as BaO content increases from 0% to 10%, thereafter a slight increment is observed with an increase in BaO content from 10% to 40%. The metallization criterion (M) and the value of reflection loss (R L) confirm that the present glasses show non-metallic character or insulating in nature. While replacing the composition SrO with BaO improves the glasses' capabilities to shield gamma radiation at low gamma energies (284–826 keV), their shielding capabilities slightly deteriorates at high gamma energies (1173–1333 keV). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The melt quenching method has been utilized to prepare the TeO 2 -CdO-PbO-B 2 O 3 glass system. The optical packing density and the various elastic moduli increase as the as PbO increases from 30 to 40 mol%. The number of bonds per unit volume increases from 8.96 × 1022 cm−3 to 11.91 × 1022 cm−3 as the concentration of PbO increases. The indirect and direct band gap energies decrease from 2.828 to 2.705 eV and 3.112–2.931 eV respectively with increasing mol% of the PbO. The mass attenuation coefficient has been derived using EPICS2017 library. Below 0.284 MeV, the mass attenuation coefficient obtained by EPICS2017 are higher than that determined by Phy-X/PSD by approximately 2.5% for the five glass samples. In contrast, the mass attenuation coefficient determined by Phy-X/PSD are higher than that calculated from EPICS2017 at energies higher than 0.284 MeV, ranging from 0.09% to 0.36%. Moreover, we determined the linear attenuation coefficient and the results showed that the PbB5 glass (with 50 mol% of PbO) has a higher value of this parameter. The effective atomic number values at 122 keV span from 61.06 to 69.98, while at 1458 MeV span from 17.26 to 25.23. The mean free path results proved that the photons with low energy have small penetration ability thus the glasses have a good attenuation performance when exposed to radiation with low energy. For the glass with 30 mol% of PbO (coded as PbB1), the value of mean free path increased from 0.120 cm at 122 keV to 4.305 cm at 1458 keV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gamma-ray shielding features of Bi2O3-CaO-K2O-Na2O-P2O5 glass systems were experimentally reported. The mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) for the fabricated glasses was experimentally measured at seven energy values (between 0.0595 and 1.33 MeV). The compatibility between the practical and theoretical results shows the accuracy of the results obtained in the laboratory for determining the MAC of the prepared samples. The mass and linear attenuation coefficients (MACs) increase with the addition of Bi2O3 and A4 glass possesses the highest MAC and LAC. A downward trend in the linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) with increasing the energy from 0.0595 to 1.33 MeV is found. The highest LAC is found at 1.33 MeV (in the range of 0.092–0.143 cm−1). The effective atomic number (Zeff) follows the order B1 > A1 > A2 > A3 > A4. This order emphasizes that increasing the content of Bi2O3 has a positive effect on the photon shielding proficiencies owing to the higher density of Bi2O3 compared with Na2O. The half value layer (HVL) is also determined and the HVL for the tested glasses is computed between 0.106 and 0.958 cm at 0.0595 MeV. The glass with 10 mol% of Bi2O3 has lower HVL than the glasses with 0, 2.5, 5, and 7.5 mol% of Bi2O3. So, the A4 glass needs a smaller thickness than the other glasses to shield the same radiation. As a result of the reported shielding parameters, inserting B2O3 provides lower values of these three parameters, which in turn leads to the development of superior photons shields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role La2O3 on the radiation shielding properties of La2O3-CaO-B2O3-SiO2 glass systems was investigated. The energies were selected between 0.284 and 1.275 MeV and Phy-X software was used for the calculations. BLa10 glass had the least linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) at all the tested energies, while BLa30 had the greatest, which indicated that increasing the content of La2O3 in the BLa-X glasses enhances the shielding performance of these glasses. The mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) of BLa15 decreases from 0.150 cm2/g to 0.054 cm2/g at energies of 0.284 MeV and 1.275 MeV, respectively, while the MAC of BLa25 decreases from 0.164 cm2/g to 0.053 cm2/g for the same energies, respectively. At all energies, the effective atomic number (Zeff) values follow the trend BLa10 < BLa15 < BLa20 < BLa25 < BLa30. The half value thickness (HVL) of the BLa-X glass shields were also investigated. The minimum HVL values are found at 0.284 MeV. The HVL results demonstrated that BLa30 is the most space-efficient shield. The tenth value layer (TVL) results demonstrated that the glasses are more effective attenuators at lower energies, while decreasing in ability at greater energies. These mean free path results proved that increasing the density of the glasses, by increasing the amount of La2O3 content, lowers MFP, and increases attenuation, which means that BLa30, the glass with the greatest density, absorbs the most amount of radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the Makishema–Mackenzie model assumption, the dissociation energy and packing density for a quaternary TeO2-As2O3-B2O3-Li2O glass system were evaluated. The dissociation energy rose from 67.07 to 71.85 kJ/cm3, whereas the packing factor decreased from 16.55 to 15.21 cm3/mol associated with the replacement of TeO2 by LiO2 compounds. Thus, as a result, the elastic moduli (longitudinal, shear, Young, and bulk) were enhanced by increasing the LiO2 insertion. Based on the estimated elastic moduli, mechanical properties such as the Poisson ratio, microhardness, longitudinal velocity, shear velocity, and softening temperature were evaluated for the investigated glass samples. In order to evaluate the studied glasses' gamma-ray shield capacity, the MCNP-5 code, as well as a theoretical Phy-X/PSD program, were applied. The best shielding capacity was achieved for the glass system containing 25 mol% of TeO2, while the lowest ability was obtained for the glass sample with a TeO2 concentration of 5 mol%. Furthermore, a correlation between the studied glasses' microhardness and linear attenuation coefficient was performed versus the LiO2 concentration to select the glass sample which possesses a suitable mechanical and shielding capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The radiation shielding competence was examined for a binary glass system xLa2O3 + (1 − x) TeO2 where x = 5, 7, 10, 15, and 20 mol% using MCNP-5 code. The linear attenuation coefficients (LACs) of the glasses were evaluated, and it was found that LT20 glass has the greatest LAC, while LT5 had the least LAC. The transmission factor (TF) of the glasses was evaluated against thicknesses at various selected energies and was observed to greatly decrease with increasing thickness; for example, at 1.332 MeV, the TF of the LT5 glass decreased from 0.76 to 0.25 as the thickness increased from 1 to 5 cm. The equivalent atomic number (Zeq) of the glasses gradually increased with increasing photon energy above 0.1 MeV, with the maximum values observed at around 1 MeV. The buildup factors were determined to evaluate the accumulation of photon flux, and it was found that the maximum values for both can be seen at around 0.8 MeV. This research concluded that LT20 has the greatest potential in radiation shielding applications out of the investigated glasses due to the glass having the most desirable parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gamma radiation shielding ability for CaO-K2O-Na2O-P2O5 glasses were experimentally determined between 0.0595 and 1.41 MeV. The experimental MAC results were compared with theoretical results obtained from the XCOM software to test the accuracy of the experimental values. Additionally, the effect of increasing the P2O5 in the glass composition, or reducing the Na2O content, was evaluated at varying energies. For the fabricated glasses, the experimental data strongly agreed with the XCOM results. The effective atomic number (Zeff) of the fabricated glasses was also determined. The Zeff values start out at their maximum (12.41–12.55) at the lowest tested energy, 0.0595 MeV, and decrease to 10.69–10.80 at 0.245 MeV. As energy further increases, the Zeff values remain almost constant between 0.344 and 1.41 MeV. The mean free path (MFP) of the fabricated glasses is investigated and we found that the lowest MFP value occurs at the lowest tested energy, 0.0595 MeV, and lies within the range of 1.382–1.486 cm, while the greatest MFP can be found at the highest tested energy, 1.41 MeV, within the range of 8.121–8.656 cm. At all energies, the KCNP40 sample has the lowest MFP, while the KCNP60 sample has the greatest. The half value layer (HVL) for the KCNP-X glasses is determined. For all the selected energies, the HVL values follow the order of KCNP40 < KCNP45 < KCNP50 < KCNP55 < KCNP60. The HVL of the KCNP50 sample increased from 0.996 to 2.663, 3.392, 4.351, and 5.169 cm for energies of 0.0595, 0.245, 0.444, 0.779, and 1.11 MeV, respectively. The radiation protection efficiency (RPE) results reveal that decreasing the P2O5 content in the glasses improves the radiation shielding ability of the samples. Thus, the KCNP40 sample has the best potential for photon attenuation applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Makishima and Mackenzie model has been used to determine the mechanical properties of the PbO-WO3-Na2O-MgO-B2O3 glass system. The number of bonds per unit volume of the glasses (nb) increases from 9.40 × 1022 to 10.09 × 1022 cm−3 as the PbO content increases from 30 to 50 mol%. The Poisson's ratio (σ) for the examined glasses falls between 0.174 and 0.210. The value of the fractal bond connectivity (d) for the present glasses ranges from 3.08 to 3.59. Gamma photon and fast neutron shielding parameters were evaluated via Phy-X/PSD, while that of electrons were calculated via the ESTAR platform. Analysis of the parameters showed that both photon and electron attenuation ability improve with the PbO content. The fast neutron removal cross section of the glasses varies from 0.094–0.102 cm−1 as PbO molar content reduced from 50–30 mol%. Further analysis of shielding parameters of the investigated glass system showed that they possess good potential to function in radiation protection applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanical and radiation shielding features were reported for a quaternary Na2O-CaO-SiO2-TiO2 glass system used in radiation protection. The fundamentals of the Makishima–Mazinize model were applied to evaluate the elastic moduli of the glass samples. The elastic moduli, dissociation energy, and packing density increased as TiO2 increased. The glasses' dissociation energy increased from 62.82 to 65.33 kJ/cm3, while the packing factor slightly increased between 12.97 and 13.00 as the TiO2 content increased. The MCNP-5 code was used to evaluate the gamma-ray shielding properties. The best linear attenuation coefficient was achieved for glass samples with a TiO2 content of 9 mol%: the coefficient decreased from 5.20 to 0.14 cm−1 as the photon energy increased from 0.015 to 15 MeV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fabrication of TePbMgX glass system has been done using the standard melt quenching method. The number of bonds per unit volume (n b) increases from 7.77 x 1022 cm−3 to 8.02 x 1022 cm−3. The values of E, K, G and L moduli decreases from 31.58 to 23.22 GPa for E, 14.79 to 11.76 GPa for K, 14.82 to 10.63 GPa for G and 34.55 to 25.93 GPa for L respectively as the PbO increases from 35 to 55%. The σ lies in the range of 0.145–0.172. The indirect and direct band gap energies decrease from 2.832 to 2.673 eV and 3.120–3.005 eV respectively with increasing mol% of the PbO. Moreover, with the help of FLUKA code, we reported the mass attenuation coefficient (μ/ρ) for the prepared samples between 0.122 and 1.458 MeV. The FLUKA results were compared with those generated from Phy-X software and a good agreement was reported and this validated the simulated μ/ρ results. The linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) was determined to examine the influence of adding PbO on the shielding performance of the prepared samples. The LAC result suggested that the attenuation performance for the TePbMgX glass systems is highly effective when exposed to low energy radiation, and, by contrast, the glasses become worse attenuators when exposed to high energy radiation. Also, the glass with 55 mol% of PbO (MgO free) has a higher LAC than the glasses with 35–50 mol% of PbO (5-20 mol% of MgO). The half value layer (HVL) of the glasses greatly increase with increasing energy. For TePbMg1, the HVL increases from 0.050 cm at 0.122 MeV, to 1.559 cm at 0.779 MeV, and 2.573 cm at 1.458 MeV. This HVL results demonstrated that increasing the PbO content in the glasses improves the shielding ability of the glass system, with TePbMg5 having the best HVL at all energies. At 0.3443 MeV, the effective atomic number (Z eff) values increase from 48.40 for 35 mol% PbO, to 49.87 for 40 mol% PbO, 51.28 for 45 mol% PbO, 52.62 for 50 mol% PbO, and 53.89 for 55 mol% PbO. We calculated the Relative reduction in transmission (RRT) and we found that at 0.245 MeV, the RTT values at 0.245 MeV have the following values: 17% and 81% for the samples with thickness of 0.25 and 2.25 cm respectively. • The fabrication of TePbMgX glasses has been done using the melt quenching method. • The n b increases from 7.77 x 1022 cm−3 to 8.02 x 1022 cm−3. • The indirect band gap energy decreases from 2.832 to 2.673 eV with adding PbO. • The glass with 55 mol% of PbO (MgO free) has a higher LAC than the other glasses. • The values of E, K, G and L moduli decreases as the PbO increases from 35 to 55%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of 0.5–1.5 mol% Er3+ ions on the structural, optical, mechanical, and radiation shielding properties of a borate glass system is investigated in this study. With continuous Er3+ doping, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy established the attenuation in network rigidity because of the change of [BO 4 ] into [BO 3 ] units and Non-Bridging Oxygens (NBOs). This was consistent with iconicity rise and reduction in the average coordination number. The increase in the number of NBOs identified to form localized states within the energy gap was related to the lowering of the bandgap of the glass with Er3+ doping. The decrease in Vicker's microhardness and elastic constants of the glass samples with Er3+ doping was understood by the drop in the network rigidity. MCNP5 and WinXCom codes were used to determine the radiation shielding characteristics of the glasses. The scope of the glasses can be extended for shielding because their features were on par with some commercial shielding glasses. • Study of Er3+ on structural and radiation shielding properties of borate glass. • Non-Bridging Oxygens increase with Er3+ doping. • MCNP5 and WinXCom codes used to find radiation shielding parameters. • Good scope of the glass for radiation shielding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Glass system consisting of ternary BaO, B 2 O 3 , and CdO compounds was fabricated using the melt-quenching method. The fabricated glasses density was measured using the Archimedes method and reduced in the range between 3.148 and 2.955 g/cm3, raising the CdO concentration in the glass network. The elastic moduli and some mechanical properties were calculated for the fabricated glasses based on the Makishima-Mackenzie model. The obtained results showed a diminished in Young, bulk, shear, longitudinal moduli, and the microhardness of the fabricated glass with the replacement of the BaO by CdO compounds. Moreover, the linear attenuation coefficient of the fabricated samples was measured via NaI detector at energies 0.662, 1.173, and 1.332 MeV emitted by the radioactive sources Cs-137and Co-60. The experimental data was confirmed using the XCOM program and Monte Carlo simulation. The highest linear attenuation coefficient is obtained for the fabricated glass without CdO content. It is decreased from 74.49 to 0.086 cm−1 between 0.015 and 15 MeV. Furthermore, the effect of partial replacement of BaO by CdO compounds on the effective removal cross-section for the fast neutrons was evaluated theoretically. Based on this factor, the fabricated glasses' relaxation length and half-value layer were also calculated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Influence of annealing on optical nonlinear features gold nanoparticles embedded sodium zinc borate glasses has been studied. • Nonlinear optical traits have been evaluated under femtosecond pulse regime. • The intensity–sensitive nonlinear optical features were evaluated. • The results endorse gold nanoparticles embedded sodium zinc borate glass is beneficial for nonlinear photonic applications. Herein, we explored the annealing and intensity–dependent femtosecond (fs) nonlinear optical (NLO) studies on sodium zinc borate (NZB) glasses embedded with gold nanoparticles (NPs). The glasses were prepared by the melt–quench process and subjected for thermal treatment at 450 °C at different schedules in a normal atmosphere. It was identified that the glass annealed for 12 hr (i.e., the NZBAu12 glass) had the maximum saturation intensity and negative nonlinear refraction values. Therefore, the intensity–sensitive NLO investigations then conducted on that glass to understand the influence of intensity of laser radiation on NLO proeprties on gold NPs embedded glasses. The saturable absorption observed at lower intensity was switched to reverse saturable absorption (two–photon absorption) during the exposure with high fluence laser pulses. However, the nonlinear refraction sign was unchanged with increase of intensity of laser radiation. The strategy explored in this work might pave the way for achieving the strong nonlinear traits in borate–based glasses routed with gold NPs. The study outcomes endorse the benefits of NZBAu12 glass for optical switching functionalities under low–intensity pulse excitation, as well as for optical limiting applications under high–intensity pulse excitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Sm3+ doped BaO-ZnO-LiF-B 2 O 3 glasses synthesized by melt-quench method. • Intense emission at 601 nm observed with 401 nm excitation. • 63–93% quantum efficiency of the glasses obtained for 601 nm emission. • Color purity of 99% attained for pure reddish-orange generation. • 0.1 mol% Sm3+ glass can be recommended for reddish-orange emission devices. Sm3+ containing BaO-ZnO-LiF-B 2 O 3 glass system by a melt-quenching procedure was synthesized and the structural, thermal, dielectric, optical, and radiative properties were studied. The creation of Non-Bridging Oxygens (NBOs) with Sm3+ doping was manifested from Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy by the decrement of the relative area of component peaks associated with the [BO 4 ] units and simultaneous increment of the relative area linked with the [BO 3 ] units. The glass transition temperature was identified by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The dielectric properties were analyzed with varying frequency and temperature through dielectric constant, loss tangent, conductivity, and capacitance. The optical transition properties were studied in the framework of Judd-Ofelt (JO) theory. JO parameters were confirmed, and furthermore, the optical transition rates and fluorescence branching ratios were also derived. With 401 nm excitation, the emission spectra of the glass system exhibited emissions of the Sm3+ ion corresponding to transitions 4G 5/2 → 6H 5/2 , 6H 7/2, 6H 9/2, 6H 11/2 at 563, 601, 647, and 708 nm, respectively. The higher emission rate, branching ratio, stimulated emission cross-section, gain linewidth, and figure of merit for the transition 4G 5/2 → 6H 7/2 calculated by Fuchtbauer-Ladenburg theory indicated potential of the titled glass system for reddish-orange solid-state lasers. The investigated glass system also exhibited high quantum efficiency and color purity (99%) for emission device application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using an HPGe detector and multiradioactive point source (60Co, 133Ba, 137Cs, and 241Am), the photon attenuation properties of 40P 2 O 5 –20CaO–10K 2 O-(30-x)Na 2 O-xPbO (x = 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 mol%) glasses were experimentally tested. The practical findings matched the theoretical results from the online XCOM program extremely well. It was shown that the linear attenuation coefficient may be utilized to assess the efficacy of photon protection as well as the effective atomic number, half-value layer, mean free pass, transmission factor, and radiation protection efficiency parameters. The chemical compositions of the glass system and the incident energies of the radiation source influenced all these factors. At low energies, the photon protection efficiency of the PCNKPb20 and PCNKPb15 samples was approximately 100%. Thus, these samples could block nearly all the low-energy radiation directed at them. The shielding competence was also compared to other recently reported commercial glasses. This shows that the PCNKPb20 glass can be an effective barrier against X-ray or gamma-ray radiation. • The photon attenuation properties of P 2 O 5 –CaO–K 2 O–Na 2 O–PbO glasses were reported. • As energy levels rise, the shielding capacity of the glasses decreases. • The HVL for PCNKPb20 and PCNKPb0 at 0.0595 MeV are 0.099 and 0.958 cm. • PCNKPb20 glass can be an effective barrier against gamma-ray radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bi 2 O 3 -TeO 2 -MgO-Na 2 O-B 2 O 3 glasses were fabricated using the melt quenching method. Present samples increase in density from 3.833 to 4.283 g/cm3 as bismuth concentration rises. The average boron-boron separation and oxygen packing density are reduced when bismuth oxide is added to the network. As bismuth content rises, the indirect band gap value reduces from 2.626 eV to 2.492 eV. The refractive index and molar refractivity increase whereas the optical electronegativity values decrease as bismuth oxide increases. The gamma-ray shielding parameters for the prepared glasses were determined via Phy-X / PSD computer program. The energies used in this study varied between 0.248 and 1.275 MeV. The mass attenuation coefficient values are range from 0.309 cm2/g (for Bi20) to 0.358 cm2/g (for Bi35). At all energies, the MAC improves when Bi 2 O 3 is added. The dependence of the half-value layer for the glasses with the Bi 2 O 3 content is studied, and we found that the lowest thickness occurred at 0.284 MeV. It is 0.586 cm for Bi20, 0.532, 0.492 and 0.452 cm for Bi25-Bi35, while the HVL reached the maximum values of 3.192, 3.047, 2.97 and 2.82 cm at 1.275 MeV. This HVL result indicates that more radiation is being attenuated in the glass with a high concentration of Bi 2 O 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• First TL investigation on Sm3+-Er3+ and Sm3+-Yb3+ co-doped BaO-ZnO-LiF-B 2 O 3 glass. • Sm3+-Er3+ and Sm3+-Yb3+ are activator-quencher combinations for TL intensity. • Anomalous loss of signal of Sm3+ doped glass countered by doping Er3+ and Yb3+. • TL dosimetry performance can be tuned by the doping/co-doping of rare-earth ions. The consequences of doping Er3+ and Yb3+ ions on the thermoluminescence (TL) dosimetry performance of the BaO-ZnO-LiF-B 2 O 3 -Sm 2 O 3 glass system were examined for the first time. The incorporation of Er3+ and Yb3+ ions were found to be highly detrimental to the TL intensity, sensitivity, and trap density of the Sm3+ doped glass. Although Sm3+ ions enhanced the integrated TL intensity of the host glass by two thousand times, Sm3+-Er3+ and Sm3+-Yb3+ combinations functioned like activator-quencher systems. Contrary, the problem of anomalous loss of 50% signal after a storage week of the Sm3+ doped glass was effectively countered by doping Er3+ (2% loss) and Yb3+ (8% loss) ions. From the trap parameters, the elimination of some shallow traps and deepening of some existing ones was reasoned for minimizing fading. Even if the Er3+ and Yb3+ ions adversely affected the TL intensity of the Sm3+ glass, they greatly improved the stability. The observations indicate that the TL dosimetry performance of a glass system can be suitably tuned by the doping/co-doping of rare-earth ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy Metal Oxide (HMO) containing glass materials serve the purpose of radiation shielding owing to their optical transparency as well as radiation attenuation power. In this work, a glass system Li 2 O-K 2 O-B 2 O 3 -HMO containing various HMOs like SrO/TeO 2 /PbO/Bi 2 O 3 was analyzed for the radiation shielding properties. The density of the synthesized glasses was relatively higher than the same HMO containing other glass systems. The X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) profile confirmed the amorphous structure of the synthesized glasses. The assignment of the vibrational contributions from the borate glass network was done using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. From the determined linear attenuation coefficient, transmission factor, mass attenuation coefficient (µ/ρ), and half value layer of the glasses, it was reported that the Bi 2 O 3 containing glass was more favorable for radiation shielding over SrO, TeO 2 , and PbO containing glasses. The radiation shielding performance of this glass was even superior to commercial glasses like Type A, Type B, and Rider, and comparable to the RS360 glass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report for the first time the Thermoluminescence (TL) enhancement of intensity, stability, and sensitivity of a novel Yb3+ doped BaO–ZnO–LiF–B 2 O 3 glass host by Sm3+ co-doping. The optimum co-doping of Sm3+ ions to the Yb3+ optimum doped glass intensified the TL counts by 6 times and that of the undoped glass by 157 times. This was reasoned to the increment in the trap density. The kinetic parameters signified the restructuring role of Sm3+ ions by creating deeper traps with higher lifetimes and activation energies. This was beneficial in enhancing the stability of the Yb3+ doped glass by minimizing the thermal fading after a week from 42% to 10%. The co-doping also enhanced the sensitivity and lowered the threshold dose. The results present the perspective of Sm3+ ions as TL activators. The TL dosimeter characteristics of the co-doped glass were favorable for its potential application in γ-environment (0.25–1 kGy) and food irradiation. ZLBBY0.1 glass: 10BaO–20ZnO–20LiF-49.9B 2 O 3 -0.1Yb 2 O 3 ZLBBY0.1S0.5 glass: 10BaO–20ZnO–20LiF-49.4B 2 O 3 -0.1Yb 2 O 3 -0.5Sm 2 O 3. [Display omitted] • γ-TLD characteristics of BaO–ZnO–LiF–B 2 O 3 –Yb 2 O 3 –Sm 2 O 3 glass system examined • Augmentation of TL intensity of base glass after Yb3+-Sm3+ co-doping • TL sensitivity and stability of co-doped glass better than Yb3+ mono-doped glass • TLD characteristics appropriate for food irradiation application [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The physical and structural properties of the (40 + x) P 2 O 5 - 20 CaO- (30-x) Na 2 O - 10 K 2 O (x increases from 0 to 20 mol% in increments of 5 mol%) glasses have been reported. The sample CKNP40 having highest concentration of Na 2 O possess the highest value of the various elastic moduli, indicating that this sample possess maximum rigidity and mechanical strength. For attaining the photon shielding competencies, we evaluated the theoretical computations via Phy-X/PSD in the range of 0.015–15 MeV. According to the findings, the mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) values are found to be high (>9 cm2. g-1) in the lowest photon energy for all glass series whereas a sudden reduction in MAC values exists when the photon energy goes through 0.10 MeV, namely around 0.1787 cm2. g-1 and reached to its lowest value (around 0.0216 cm2 g−1) at 15 MeV. On the other hand, one can figure out that the HVL thicknesses varied between 0.032 and 13.72, 0.033 to 14.01, 0.034 to 14.23, 0.034 to 14.50, and 0.035–14.66 cm for CKNP40 to CKNP60 in the respective order. Besides that, we found out that if one requires lower MFP distances, then it is suggested to use lower P2O5 contribution in the CaO–K2O–Na2O–P2O5 glass system. • (40 + x) P 2 O 5 - 20 CaO- (30-x) Na 2 O - 10 K 2 O glasses have been fabricated. • The sample CKNP40 possess the highest value of the various elastic moduli. • The MAC values are found to be high (>9 cm2. g-1) in the lowest photon energy. • The HVL varied between 0.032 to 13.72 and 0.035–14.66 cm for CKNP40 and CKNP60. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]