Characterizing the properties of Li2O–B2O3–SiO2– P2O5–TiO2 glasses: A multidimensional investigation of their structure, optical properties, and gamma-ray shielding capability

Abstract

A series of lithium borophosphosilicate glass doped with TiO2 was produced with melt-quenching procedure with empirical formula (20-x) Li2O–40B2O3–20SiO2– 20P2O5–xTiO2, where x can be changed between 0 and 16 mol%. By adding titanate, the bulk density of BSPLT glass increased from 3.61 to 4.812 g/cm3. The amorphous nature of glasses is demonstrated by XRD analysis. Different optical characteristics, including the refractive index and optical band gap (Eopt), were determined by recording optical absorption spectra in the 250–2500 nm range. The observed range (Eopt) values from 3.09 eV to 2.64 eV suggests that the (Eopt) decreases as the content of TiO2 in the BSPLT samples increases. The linear optical susceptibility χ(1), third-order non-linear optical susceptibility (χ(3)), and the non-linear refractive index (n2) were determined. Higher-density glasses provide more effective radiation shielding because they are better at absorbing and slowing down radiation particles. BSPLT-16 glass exhibits the highest FNRCS value among the samples tested, indicating its superior performance in shielding against fast neutrons. It is noted that the BSPLT-16 sample, has the highest density among the glasses tested, shows the greatest effective for radiation shielding applications according to the results.