Enhancement of shielding ability using PbF2 in Fe-reinforced bismuth borate glasses

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics 2021-09, Vol.32 (18), p.23047-23065
• Main Authors: Sekhar, K. Chandra, Kavitha, B., Narsimlu, N., Sathe, Vasant, Alothman, Miysoon A., Olarinoye, I. O., Al-Buriahi, M. S., Shareefuddin, Md
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atomic properties; Attenuation; Bismuth oxides; Bismuth trioxide; Boron oxides; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Fast neutrons; Glass; Materials Science; Monte Carlo simulation; Optical and Electronic Materials; Radiation; Radiation shielding; Refractivity; Stopping power
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-021-06788-4

The PFBBF- x glasses with the chemical structure x PbF 2  − (99.5 −  x )(Bi 2 O 3  + B 2 O 3 ) − 0.5Fe 2 O 3 (where x changes from 0 to 50 in the steps of 10) were prepared using melt quenching method. The concentration of PbF 2 is increased gradually in the steps of 10 mol% at the cost of Bi 2 O 3 –B 2 O 3 , where the Bi 2 O 3 and B 2 O 3 concentrations are reduced in 20:80 ratios. The prepared PFBBF glasses were investigated using XRD, UV–Visible, FTIR, Raman and Radiation shielding feature for their potential use in the optical applications and as shielding materials. With the excess of PBF 2 ,we found an increase in percentage of the density to be 38.Moreover,the optical bandgap E opt values for the PFBBF glasses rose from 2.826 eV (PFBBF-0) to 3.090 eV (PFBBF-50) while their Urbach energy (∆ E ) were less than 0.179 eV. Furthermore, refractive index ( n ) values for the glasses reduced from 2.4456 for PFBBF-0 glass to 2.3733 for PFBBF-50 glass. On the other hand, the Monte Carlo method was utilized to estimate the radiation shielding performance of our prepared PFBBF glasses. Analysis of linear ( μ ) and mass attenuation ( μ ρ ) coefficient showed that μ and ( μ ρ ) decay from their maximum values 25.758 cm −1 (4.146 cm 2 /g) at 0.1 MeV to 0.160 cm −1 (0.036 cm 2 /g) at 6 MeV while values of effective atomic number varies from 14.44 to 75.16 for PFBBF-0–PFBBF-50, respectively. Generally, total mass stopping power and projected range of electron, proton, α-particle, and carbon ion varied according to the trend: PFBBF-0 > PFBBF-10 > PFBBF-20 > PFBBF-30 > PFBBF-40 > PFBBF-50. The increase in the concentration of PbF 2 was found to have a strong influence on the slow/thermal, and fast neutron transmission and cross sections in the glasses. A breakdown of obtained shielding parameters highlighted the superior shielding ability of the PFBBF glasses as against some previously investigated glasses and conventional radiation shields.