Influence of aluminum and vanadium oxides on copper borate glass: A physical/radiological study

Abstract

Due to the radiation released by commonly used isotopes, many nuclear, medical, and industrial facilities require proper radiation shielding. In this work, distinct copper borate glasses intercalated with varied aluminum and vanadium oxide (Al2O3 and V2O5) content have been synthesized and used against radiation (gamma rays and fast/thermal neutrons). The different percents were as follows: [60% B2O3 + 35% CuO + (5-x)% Al2O3 + xV2O5], where x = 0, 1, and 2.5 wt.%, which was coded as BCu(5-x)Al:xV. The synthesized glass samples were characterized using Fourier transforms, infrared, and X-Raydiffraction analysis. Experimentally, the radiation shielding possessions of the samples were established using an HPGe detector at the gamma energy lines 0.356 MeV, 0.661 MeV, 1.173 MeV, and 1.332 MeV. Also, the prepared glasses were investigated theoretically using the Monte Carlo code (MCNP5) at photon energies of 0.015–15 MeV. Also, the fast and thermal neutron macroscopic effective removal cross-sections were calculated using MRCsC and JANIS-4.1 software, respectively. The prepared sample BCu2.5Al:2.5V, which has a vanadium and aluminum content of 2.5%, has the highest linear attenuation coefficient as well as the highest removal cross-section for fast, and thermal neutrons.