Newly designed borate glass system for optical and radiation shielding applications: Multiple effects of CdS on structural, magnetic, optical, mechanical and photon shielding features

Abstract

In this work, a comprehensive characterization study of borate glasses coded as BBNC given with the chemical composition (65-x)B2O3+15BaTiO3+ 20Na2O + xCdS (where x = 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 mol%) was experimentally performed. Initially, the amorphous nature of fabricated glasses was confirmed via XRD characterization. The density of the samples was measured and it was found that it increases from 2.743 to 2.912 g/cm3. Optical features of the BBNC glasses were studied using UV–Vis–NIR and it was found that the Egopt decreased for direct and indirect permissible transition, while the Urbach's energies rose from 0.154 to 0.193 eV as the CdS concentration increased. The magnetic moment and saturation magnetization of BBNC glasses were decreased with increasing CdS addition; this is due to increasing in the antiferromagnetic phase. The small coordination of CdO with respect to B2O3 caused a decrease in the elastic modulus of the glasses with increasing CdO addition. Moreover, the attenuation degree of BBNC glasses for gamma radiation was determined by examining some important shielding parameters. The BBNC8 glass was reported to have the largest MACs among manufactured glasses. The HVL values of 10.2, 9.82, 9.44, 9.16, and 8.87 cm were found for BBNC0-8 glasses at 15 MeV, respectively. The BBNC8 glass has the thinnest HVL, lowest EBFs, and EABFs, while its Zeffs are larger than other glasses. These findings show that the addition of CdS to Sodium–Barium-Borate glasses owns positive impacts on the structural, optical, magnetic, and photon shielding competencies of the glasses.