Impact of B2O3/Co3O4 substitution on structure, physical, optical characteristics and photon attenuation capacity of borosilicate glasses

Abstract

The impact of substitution of B₂O₃/Co₃O₄ in borosilicate glasses on their optical, structural, and physical characteristics as well as their ability to attenuate γ-rays was examined. Using the traditional melt quenching process, glass samples with the chemical formula (45-X)B₂O₃+15SiO₂+ 20BaF₂+20Na₂O + XCo₃O₄, where X equals 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 mol%. The prepared samples were coded as Co-0.0 - Co-2.0. XRD measurements revealed the non-crystalline character of the Co-X samples. The molar volume (V_m) decreased from 31.19 cm³/mol to 31.08 cm³/mol, although the density (ρ) increased from 2.81 g/cm³ to 2.94 g/cm³. When comparing Co-0.0 and Co-2.0, the direct optical band gap ($E_g^{Direct}$) values reduced from 4.32 eV to 3.77 eV, while the indirect optical band gap ($E_g^{Indirect}$) decreased from 3.93 eV to 3.44 eV. The Co-X glasses' Urbach's energy (E_U) ranged from 0.297 eV to 0.248 eV. As the ratio of Co²⁺ ions rose, the optical dielectric constants of Co-X glasses, ε₁ (actual part) and ε₂ (imaginary portion) were improved. The linear (μ) and mass (μ_m) attenuation coefficients and effective atomic number (Z_ef) were followed the order: Co-2.0 > Co-1.5 > Co-1.0 > Co-0.5 > Co-0.0. The created Co-2.0 glass, which has the maximum amount of cobalt (III) oxide, has the lowest mean free path (M_FP) and half/tenth value layers (H/T_VL). The examined Co-X glasses can be employed for optical and γ-ray shielding purposes, as confirmed by the results.