Elastic, mechanical, and radiation shielding behaviors of copper-phosphate binary-glasses with diverse copper valence-states: [formula omitted

Abstract

This paper presents a comprehensive investigation of the mechanical, elastic, and radiation shielding properties of glass systems comprising yCuOx + (100-y)P2O5, where y = 45, 50, and 55 mol%, and x = 1, 2, 3, or 4, representing different copper-valence-states (i.e., R(Cu+)=Cu+/(Cu++Cu++)). Three series of copper-phosphate glasses were synthesized, and their physical properties, including density, molar-volume, oxygen-molar-volume, and packing-density, were analyzed. The elastic-moduli and Poisson's-ratio were calculated using the Makishima-Mackenzie model, showing significant influence by the copper-valence-state. The micro-hardness Hv ∈(17.3–19.0 MPa), E ∈(38.6–45.82 MPa), and Poisson's ratio∈ (0.419–0.426) increased as a function of R (Cu+). Furthermore, the radiation shielding properties of the glass systems were explored employing the XCOM and Phys-X software. Mass-attenuation-coefficients (μm) were found to follow the order μmseries-a <μmseries-b< μmseries-c in the incoming photon energies ranging from 0.015 to 15 MeV. The μm values increased with increasing copper-valence-state and decreased with photon energy. Energy absorption and exposure buildup factors exhibited maximum values around 0.15 MeV, shifting to higher energies with increasing copper-valence-state.