Optical and radiation shielding studies on tellurite glass system containing ZnO and Na2O

Abstract

Three TeO2-ZnO-Na2O ternary glass samples with chemical formula 80TeO2-xZnO-(20-x)Na2O (where x = 20, 10, and 0 mol% represents TeZnNa1, TeZnNa2, and TeZnNa3 respectively) were investigated for their optical and radiation shielding attributes. The calculated optical parameters namely structure molar refractivity (RMol), molar polarizability (αMol.), reflection loss (RLoss) and optical transmission (TOpt.) all vary with the chemical content of the glasses. The FLUKA Monte Carlo code and XCOM software was used to estimate mass attenuation coefficient MAC of the glasses. Furthermore, the fast neutron absorption probability ΣR was estimated through standard expressions. The MAC values varies between 0.03796 and 0.16191 for TeZnNa1, 0.03793–0.16206 for TeZnNa2 and 0.03791–0.16221 cm2/g for TeZnNa3 as photon energy changes from 284 keV to 2.506 MeV. Analysis of other photon shielding parameters such as effective atomic number and mean free path showed that TeZnNa3 is the best shield among the glasses. The ΣR of the glasses also changed from 0.0942 to 0.1117 cm−1 as Na2O content increased from 0 to 20 ml%. The photon and fast neutron removal cross section of the glasses compared relatively well with standard radiation shields. The glasses are hence, can be used for radiation absorption purposes.