Structural Characterization and Gamma-Ray Shielding- Parameters of Some Phosphate Glasses Containing By-Pass Cement Dust and Barium Oxide

Abstract

By-Pass Cement Dust, as an industrial cement waste, was used to prepare some gamma-ray shielding glasses aiming to protect people and environment from hazard radiations, some phosphate glasses containing different amounts of by-pass cement dust have been prepared by the melt quenching method. The selected molecular composition was [(100-x) % P2O5 - (x) % By-Pass Cement Dust (where x=30,35,…,60)] in steps of five. The obtained experimental density and molar volume values were inspected and were then compared with those obtained empirically for the close packed structure of the corresponding compounds. These comparisons evidenced the short-range order and randomness character of the studied samples. From the IR analysis, different phosphate speeches appeared in the glass networks, as well as some silicate groups appeared in the spectra of all samples due to the presence of considerable amount of SiO2 in by-puss cement dust. Also, the present CaO act to increase Q2 and Q1 species as well as to increase the non-bridge oxygen, The tetrahedral are classified using the Qi terminology .where i represent the number of bridging oxygen's per tetrahedron It appeared also that, as by-pass cement dust was increased, the intensities of O-H and H-O-H groups decreased which indicated that CaO (the major constituent of by-pass cement dust) decreases the absorption of water and strengthening the studied samples. The suitability of such glasses to act as gamma-ray shielding materials was also examined and a correlation between the chemical composition (By-Pass Cement Dust content) and gamma-ray attenuation behavior was established.