Abstract
Melt quenching technique is used for preparing glasses with chemical formula (70P2O5)–(16 − x)CdO–(14ZnO)–(xEr2O3), (x = 1–6 mol%). These glasses were named Er1, Er2, Er3, Er4, Er5, and Er6, respectively. Photon buildup factors, fast neutron absorption, and electron stopping of the prepared glasses were examined. Glasses’ density was varied from 3.390 ± 0.003 for the Er1 glass sample to 3.412 ± 0.003 for the Er6 glass sample. The Buildup factor (BUF) spectra have relatively higher values in the Compton Scattering (CS) dominated areas compared to both Photoelectric effect (PE), and Pair Production (PP) dominated energy regions. The highest BUF appeared at the Er atom K-absorption edge, whose intensity increases as the molar concentration of Er2O3 in the glasses increases. The photon absorption efficiency (PAE) of the glasses increases according to the trend (PAE)Er1 < (PAE)Er2 < (PAE)Er3 < (PAE)Er4 < (PAE)Er5 < (PAE)Er6. Fast neutron removal cross-section, FNRC values of the glasses obtained via calculation varied from 0.1045–0.1039 cm−1 for Er1–Er6. Furthermore, the continuous slowing down approximation mode (CSDA) range enhances the kinetic energy of electrons for all glasses. Generally, results revealed that the investigated glasses could be applied for radiation shielding and dosimetric media.
Highlights
One common feature of the Buildup factor (BUF) spectra has relatively higher values in the Compton scattering (CS) dominated areas compared to both photoelectric effect (PE) and pair production (PP) dominated energy regions
The trend of the magnitude of the BUFs concerning energy regions where each of these interactions dominates is (BUF)PE < (BUF)Pair Production (PP) < (BUF)Compton Scattering (CS). This trend is consistent with the fact that both PE and PP are processes that lead to total photon absorption while CS scatters the photon; BUF is high in CS region
The annihilation of electron–positron pairs created by the PP process produces photons whenever higher photon buildup occurs in the PP region compared to the PE region [20]
Summary
The deleterious effect of uncontrolled radiation interaction with biological or non-living systems has made the use of radiation shields and other protective measures a significant part of radiation applications [1,3]. The use of different glass materials for radiation shielding has been gaining popularity [4,5,6,7] This stems from the fact that glasses that are harsh, cheap, lightweight, radiation-resistant, non-toxic, and possess other novel characteristics can be obtained via simple synthesis methods. The fact that rare-earth elements (REE) such as erbium (Er) play crucial roles in the human transition to environmentally friendly technology and economy has made glass containing Er and other REE worthy of investigation for an environmentally friendly shield for different ionizing radiations. This paper reports the effect of Er molar concentration on the photon, electron, and neutron shielding efficacy of 70P2 O5 .(16 − x)CdO.14ZnO.xEr2 O3 glass system
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