Efficacy of Ni2+ on modification the structure, ultrasonic, optical, and radiation shielding behaviors of potassium lead borate glasses

Abstract

This paper presents the method of preparing (60 − x) B2O3–20 K2O–20 PbO–x NiO, coded as (NiO x), and x = (0–10 mol%) glass systems fabricated through the melt-quench technique. The prepared glass was characterized through X-ray diffraction spectra (XRD); the mechanical behavior of the glass samples was investigated using the ultrasonic technique, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, the optical reflectance R(λ), refractive index (n), optical conductivity (σopt), the dispersion parameters of the studied samples were deduced using Wemple and Di-Domenico models. The results obtained were reported in detail. One of the fundamental parameters used to evaluate the interaction of radiation with shielding material was the mass attenuation coefficient (μm), which was obtained using Phy/X software and PHITS code program. It was used to calculate radiation interaction parameters, e.g., linear (μL) attenuation coefficient, effective atomic number (Zeff), half value layer HVL, mean free path (MFP) and the average atomic cross section, σt. Comparing the shielding behavior of the glass samples revealed that (NiO 10) glass demonstrated the highest μm and μL compared to the other samples. The maximum μm values equal 48.13, 48.73, 49.42, 50.59, and 51.08 cm2/g for (NiO 0) to (NiO 10), recorded at 0.015 MeV, respectively. This study shows that increasing the amount of NiO in the preferred glass samples leads to achieving high-performance radiation shielding materials.Graphical abstract