Holmium ions influence in structural and optical properties of Aluminium Strontium-phosphate glasses for radiation shielding applications

Abstract

This study details the synthesis of a novel series of Holmium-doped Aluminium Strontium-phosphate glass (HoAlSr- phosphate glass) composed of 55 P2O5 + 5 Al2O3 + 4 MgO + 5 NaF + 10 LiCO3 + 5 CaO + 10 SrCO3 + 5 ZnO + 1 Ho2O3 prepared by melt-quench method and its structural, optical, and physical properties are analysed. Powder −XRD verified its amorphous nature, FTIR shows the existence of large phosphate functional groups, Optical properties such as band gap energy was calculated by acquiring absorption spectra covering the UV, Vis, and NIR ranges. Obtained 3.02 eV optical band gap energy. The refractive index changing with increasing energy. Three peaks in the PL spectra corresponded to Ho3+ transitions: 5I8→ 5G6, 5I8→ 3K8, and 5I8→ 5F3. The glass conducted theoretical studies for radiation shielding properties based on several key parameters. Gamma radiation shielding parameters, including Mean Free path (MFP), Effective atomic number (Zeff), linear attenuation coefficient (LAC), and mass attenuation coefficient (MAC), were obtained with the use of the Phy-X program. MAC data show that when Compton scattering (CS) fluctuates in the intermediate photon energy zone (E > 3 MeV), the area of prominence of CS diminishes. They can cause pair production at higher energies, Compton scattering at intermediate energies, and the photoelectric effect at lower energies. The MFP values of glasses doped with HoAlSr- phosphate glass were shorter, indicating a higher level of shielding efficacy. In this study we are focusing on optical properties changes with presence of Holmium ions and its shielding property using Phy-x software. In this research discovered that the synthetic material has high shielding qualities and can be a valuable shield in environments where X-rays are present. So it will be beneficial at X-ray prompted environment