Nd2O3 tailored B2O3-TeO2-Al2O3-Na2O glasses: Correlating composition with structural, optical, elastic, and gamma shielding behaviors

Nd2O3-tailored B2O3-TeO2-Al2O3-Na2O (BTAN) glasses were synthesized via the melt-quenching technique to establish a quantitative structure-property-function relationship in multifunctional borotellurite glass systems. The novelty of this study lies in the integrated evaluation of structural evolution, elastic stiffness, mechanical durability, optical response, and experimentally validated gamma-ray shielding performance within a single glass composition series. Structural analyses using XRD, FTIR, and Raman spectroscopy confirmed the fully amorphous nature of the glasses and revealed dopant-induced network reorganization, characterized by BO3 -> BO4 conversion, TeO4/TeO3 redistribution, and increased non-bridging oxygen formation upon Nd2O3 incorporation. Physical parameters indicated pronounced network compaction, with density increasing from 2.3135 to 2.9278 g.cm(-3) and molar volume decreasing from 35.75 to 32.81 cm(3).mol(-1) Concurrently, the oxygen packing density increased by similar to 11%, confirming enhanced atomic packing efficiency. Theoretical elastic properties evaluated using the Makishima-Mackenzie model, showed a significant stiffening effect, with Young's modulus improving by similar to 10% relative to the undoped glass. Mechanical durability was simultaneously enhanced, as evidenced by a similar to 30% increase in Vickers hardness (from 2.605 to 3.387 GPa) and an improvement in fracture toughness from 0.845 to 0.933 MPa.m(1/2). The optical band gap decreased while the Urbach energy increased, indicating enhanced structural disorder induced by rare-earth incorporation. Gamma-ray shielding performance exhibited marked enhancement across the 88-1275 keV energy range; specifically, the linear attenuation coefficient increased by similar to 54% at 88 keV, while the half-value layer decreased by similar to 35%, demonstrating a substantial reduction in the required shielding thickness. The experimental attenuation results were in good agreement with MCNP simulation results and XCOM predictions. Overall, the combined experimental-theoretical framework demonstrates that Nd2O3 is an effective modifier for tailoring compactness, stiffness, and radiation-shielding efficiency in borotellurite glasses, positioning BTAN compositions as promising transparent materials for radiation safety applications.