Effect of Bi2O3 in Bi2O3–SrO–ZnO–B2O3 glass: Structural, mechanical, optical, and gamma ray shielding modifications

Abstract

The effect of Bi2O3 in Bi2O3–SrO–ZnO–B2O3 glasses has been evaluated in this study. The density of the glasses increased from 5.127 g/cm³ to 6.214 g/cm³ as Bi2O3 concentration increased from 35 % to 50 %. The rise in molar mass and molar volumes points towards the opening of the network. The structural modifications increased the elastic moduli from 30.110 to 30.944 GPa for Young modulus; 17.653–17.860 GPa for bulk modulus; 13.242–13.662 GPa for shear modulus and 35.309–36.077 GPa for longitudinal modulus, respectively. The FTIR spectra indicate the conversion of BO4 to BO3 with increasing Bi2O3 concentration which accounts for the increase of the non-bridgingoxygens (NBOs). The band gap energy decreases from 3.165 to 3.020 eV with increasing Bi2O3 content. The transmission factors (TF) and other relevant parameters were evaluated for four different thicknesses of the glasses (0.5, 1, 1.4 and 2 cm). The 0.5 cm thick glass retained the highest TF when compared to other thicknesses. The TF for 0.5 cm thick glass is about 70 %, and drops to about 20 % for 2 cm thickness, which confirms that at 2 cm thickness, the glass materials shield better than 0.5, 1 and 1.4 cm. Furthermore, the addition of Bi2O3 causes a decrease in TF, so the glass with a high Bi2O3 content shields gamma radiation better than those with a low Bi2O3 content. The half value layer (HVL) values reduce as the Bi2O3 content is increased at all examined energies, confirming that the glass sample with highest Bi2O3 content has the superior shielding capability compared to the remaining examine glasses.