Effect of silver oxide additives on structural, optical dispersion and protection features of lead boro-phosphate glasses

Abstract

This work presents the structural, optical, refractive index dispersion, and shielding properties of Ag-containing lead-boro-phosphate glasses. The glasses were prepared using the classic melt-quenching method, in which the Ag2O concentration was varied in each synthesis. The precipitation of Ag NPs was proved by the appearance of the (200) crystal plane in the XRD patterns and confirmed by the homogeneous distribution of spherical agglomerates observed in TEM images. FTIR and Raman analyses have revealed a network depolymerization process resulting from the distortion of the PO4 units and the formation of Ag NPs. Therefore, the Ag ions contribute at high concentrations to an increase in the glass density and a reduction in the optical band gap energy. Ellipsometry parameters indicate that the glass becomes more optically dispersive due to the Ag NPs formation, which improves its performance for several potential applications in multi-functional optical devices. The mass attenuation factors are determined in the energy range of 15 keV–15 MeV and are very sensitive to the silver content at low energies. The Half value layer (HVL) decreases with the amount of Ag2O, indicating the improvement in the material's ability to attenuate radiation. The results show that the glass sample with the highest Ag content has the highest shielding effectiveness.