Abstract
Six glass ceramics were prepared with composition (in mol %) 30Bi2O3-70B2O3 (pure sample) and (29-x) Bi2O3-70B2O3- 1Cr2O3: xZrO2 (where x = 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2) by process of melt-quenching, and subsequent two-step heat treatment method. We have studied the SEM, XRD, FTIR, and radiation shielding properties of the prepared samples. SEM micrographs and XRD spectra confirmed the formation of heterogeneous crystal phases in the samples during heat treatment. FTIR spectra revealed the presence of structural units: [BO3], [BO4], [BiO6], [ZrO6] and [CrO4−2] in the samples and their variation with the addition of ZrO2 content. EPDL2017 photoatomic and JENDL/PD-2016 photonuclear interaction databases revealed an increase in mass attenuation coefficients and a change in effective atomic numbers not exceeding 3% and 2% respectively. Mean free paths were calculated by highlighting a photonuclear absorption energy peak at ≈13.5 MeV due to the giant dipole resonance of bismuth nuclei. Fast neutron removal cross sections were determined using PHITS 3.31 spherical model simulations, which have demonstrated practical values between 0.0880 cm−1 to 0.0903 cm−1 and stability across compositions with relative differences not exceeding 3%.
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