Optical and nuclear radiation protection characteristics of lithium bismo-borate glasses: Role of ZrO₂ substitution

The current study is intended to examine the optical, structural and photon/neutron shielding qualities of a group of different ZrO2 content doped 60B(2)O(3) +20Bi(2)O(3)+(20-x)Li2O + xZrO(2) glasses, labeled as BBLZ1, BBLZ2, BBLZ3, BBLZ4 and BBLZ5 manufactured via the melt quenching technique. The specific gravity of the glasses was boosted with increasing ZrO2 additive and molar volume exhibited the opposite trend versus the density. XRD patterns were obtained to reveal the amorphous structure of the glasses. Spectra of optical absorption for BBLZ glasses were recorded in the wavelength region 200-1100 nm. The direct band gap (E-g) values dropped from 4.24 to 3.87 eV with the boosting ZrO2 content while the indirect E(g)s declined from 3.78 to 3.18 eV. The refractive index grew as the ZrO2 substitution ratio enhanced. To determine photon shielding parameters of BBLZ glasses, the mass attenuation coefficients (MAC) were gained viz Py-MLBUF online program for the 0.015-15 MeV gamma ray energies. Several shielding parameters of BBLZ glasses such as Half Value Layer (HVL), Exposure Buildup Factor (EBF) and Mean Free Path (MFP) were reached using MAC values. The highest MACs differ from 68.188 cm(2)/g to 0.036 cm(2)/g for BBLZ5 glass while the lowest mu/rho values varying from 69.413 cm(2)/g to 0.036 cm(2)/g belong to the BBLZ1 glass. The thinnest MFP and HVL values were observed in the BBLZ5 glass with the highest ZrO2 contribution (4 mol %). Adding ZrO2 to the fabricated glasses reduced photon buildup. BBLZ5 glass was determined to be the safest neutron shield due to its high density. It can be concluded that ZrO2 addition with increasing rates to lithium bismo-borate glasses reinforced both optical properties and nuclear radiation security qualities.

Dergi

RADIATION PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY

Yıl

2021

Cilt

183

ISSN

0969-806X

eISSN

1879-0895

DOI

10.1016/j.radphyschem.2021.109428

WoS UID

WOS:000647557800004