Influence of ZnCl2 on gamma attenuation and radiation shielding of tellurite glasses containing Bi2O3 and B2O3

Abstract

This paper investigates the influence of ZnCl2 on the gamma attenuation and radiation shielding properties of tellurite glasses incorporating Bi2O3 and B2O3. Employing Geant4 simulation and XCOM program, the study explores the impact of varying ZnCl2 content on different gamma attenuation parameters such as linear attenuation coefficient (μ), radiation protection efficiency (RPE), effective atomic number (Zeff), and HVL. Moreover, the relation between these factors and the density of the studied glass system is discussed in details. It is found that the incremental addition of Bi2O3 significantly enhanced the photon attenuation properties of the tellurite glasses involved. The maximum Zeff values are observed at the low energy region between 0.015 and 0.1 MeV with the values of 53.016, 60.133, 65.950, 70.370, and 73.791 for the glass samples namely TBBZC1, TBBZC2, TBBZC3, TBBZC4, and TBBZC5, respectively. Furthermore, the HVL values fall between 0.0016 cm and 4.3546 cm indicates that the current glass system can be utilizes for gamma shielding applications. The results provide insights into the potential enhancement of radiation shielding efficiency in tellurite glasses, contributing valuable knowledge for the development of advanced materials in nuclear safety applications.