Selected germanate glass systems with robust physical features for radiation protection material use

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the radiation shielding capabilities of four distinct germanate glass systems with compositions of TeO2-GeO2-ZnO, B2O3-GeO2-Eu2O3-R2O3 (where RY, La and Gd), Li2O–Sb2O3- GeO2-XO (where X = Pb, Zn, Ba, Sr and Ca) and Li2O-GeO2-PbO-Nd2O3 at different photon energies ranging from 0.015 to 10 MeV respectively. The present study involved the determination of mass attenuation coefficients (MAC), effective atomic number (Zeff), and half value layer for four distinct germanate glass systems. The influence of chemical composition, sample density, and photon energy on these parameters was also discussed. The findings indicate that the substitution of TeO2 with ZnO leads to a reduction in the values of both the mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) and the effective atomic number (Zeff) in the glasses composed of TeO2-GeO2-ZnO. Furthermore, it has been discovered that within the B2O3-GeO2-Eu2O3-R2O3 glass system, the highest values of MAC are observed in the glass containing Gd2O3. The sample that contained PbO exhibited the highest MAC and Zeff values among the Li2O–Sb2O3-GeO2-XO glass systems. Furthermore, the findings of this study indicate that the glass specimen containing CaO exhibits the least values of MAC and Zeff within the given system. The findings indicate that the values of MAC in the Li2O-GeO2-PbO-Nd2O3 glass system exhibit an upward trend with the rise in Nd2O3 concentration from 0 to 2 mol%.