Apatite–Wollastonite (AW) glass ceramic doped with B2O3: Synthesis, structure, SEM, hardness, XRD, and neutron/charged particle attenuation properties

Abstract

In the study, the influence of doping apatite-wollastonite (AW) glass-ceramics (GCs) with B2O3 on the structural, physical, microstructural, and light and heavy particle interaction properties is presented. Using the solid-state reaction and the cold isostatic press method, pristine AW, 10 wt% (AW-B10), and 20 wt% (AW-B20) B2O3-doped AW GCs were prepared. The prepared GCs were subject to structural, chemical compositional, and surface morphological investigation through standard experimental processes. Furthermore, the neutron (fast and thermal) and charged radiation (electron, proton, alpha, and carbon ion) interactional parameters of the GCs were obtained through standard theoretical models and software. The density of AW (2.91 gcm−3) increases to about 2.957 and 2.986 gcm−3 as B2O3 increases to 10 and 20 wt%, respectively. The presence of boron oxide supported the wollastonite phase to remain glass and suppressed crystallisation in the AW GCs. Doping AW with B2O3 improved the interaction probabilities of the GCs with fast and thermal neutrons, electrons, protons, alpha particles, and carbon ions. B-rich AW is thus potentially useful as a target material in human tissues for boron neutron capture therapy for the management of cancer and tumours, isolating or shielding specific tissues in ion beam therapy processes, and other techniques that require the exposure of human tissues to irradiation.