Influence of modifier oxide on the structural and radiation shielding features of Sm3+-doped calcium telluro-fluoroborate glass systems.

A sequence of Sm3+-incorporated calcium telluro-fluoroborate glasses by changing the modifier oxide was prepared via the melt-quenching method. The physical, structural, and gamma radiation shielding properties are investigated. XRD spectra confirmed the glassy state. The glasses' compactness was explored via the structural features like the boron-boron separation, oxygen molar volume, and oxygen packing density. Mechanical and optical properties such as Poisson's ratio, optical electronegativity, optical basicity, two-photon absorption (TPA) coefficient, and ionic and covalent characters were evaluated and discussed per modifier concentration. The photon attenuation attributes of the glasses were computed by means of the MCNP-5 code. The mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) was simulated in the energy region of 0.015–15 MeV. The highest MAC achieved at gamma energy 0.015 MeV increased from 25.004 to 33.165 cm2g−1 with increasing the CaO ratios between 0 and 40 wt%. Besides, several attenuation factors, such as the mean free path and the radiation protection efficiency, were evaluated connected with the MAC's simulated values. The study showed that the fabricated glasses' radiation protection efficiency at 0.5 MeV increased from 33.39 to 39.31, increasing the CaO content from 0 to 40 mol%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]