Exploring the impact of sulfur-antimony incorporation on the radiation shielding, structural, physical, and electrical properties of (S3Sb2)x(S2Ge)100−x chalcogenide composites.

Chalcogenide composites, a category of non-oxide glasses, have shown great potential in various applications such as optoelectronics, thermal imaging, memory-switching devices, lasers, and more. Owing to the distinctive physical properties inherent in chalcogenide glasses, these materials have garnered significant interest across various technological domains. This study aims to analyze the impact of incorporating sulfur (S) and antimony (Sb) into (S₃Sb₂)_x(S₂Ge)_100−x:x = 10, 20, 30 chalcogenide composites, assessing their radiation shielding, structural, physical, and electrical properties. Three distinct composites, designated as SSbGe-10, SSbGe-20, and SSbGe-30, are irradiated with gamma photons across an energy range of 0 to 15 MeV. The assessment of the radiation shielding attributes is conducted through the utilization of the FLUKA Monte Carlo (MC) Code. Phillips and Thorpe's theory is employed to analytically estimate structural and physical attributes such as Coordination Number (CN), bond-bending constraints (N_S), bond-stretching constraints (N_C), constraints Number (N_cons), Floppy mode (F), and stoichiometry (R). The electrical features of the provided specimens are analyzed through the utilization of the effective electron conductivity (C_eff), as ascertained by the Phy-X: PSD software. The findings indicate that the augmentation of the x value within the range of 10–30 wt.% positively augments the gamma photon shielding efficacy of the composite materials. Both N_S and N_C demonstrate diminishing patterns, encompassing the range of 2.64 to 2.575 and 7.56 to 7.30, respectively. Additionally, the stoichiometry (R > 1) for the investigated samples indicates that the chosen glasses are rich chalcogenide composites. The exhaustive examination of the physical, radiation shielding, and electrical characteristics of the prepared chalcogenide glasses provides valuable insights for subsequent investigations into various chalcogenide glass formulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]