Evaluation of the optical properties and radiation shielding effectiveness of barium-containing nickel phosphate borosilicate glasses

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Winter 2-25-2025

Abstract

Transparent barium-containing nickel phosphate borosilicate glasses were fabricated for optical and gamma shielding applications using the melt-quenching method at 1100 ◦C for 1 h. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the amorphous nature of the prepared glass composites. The physical, optical, and gamma shielding properties were systematically investigated. With an increase in BaO content, the mass density, refractive index, and refraction loss increased proportionally, while the molar volume, optical band gap (Eg), and Urbach energy (Eu) decreased. Gamma attenuation properties, including the mass attenuation coefficient (MAC), half-value layer (HVL), tenth-value layer (TVL), effective atomic number (Zeff), and exposure build-up factor (EBF), were examined across an energy range of 0.015–15 MeV. The results revealed that the mass attenuation coefficient increased with the BaO mol%. Our findings suggest that increasing BaO content in nickel phosphate borosilicate glasses enhances structural compactness and reduces disorder, while also altering the electronic structure to narrow the band gap. This combination of optical and structural changes makes these glasses suitable for applications requiring tailored optical and mechanical properties. Furthermore, the prepared transparent glass composites show significant potential for shielding applications where transparency is a critical requirement.

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