Dielectric, optical properties, γ-ray/neutron shielding capacity of bismo-borate glasses reinforced with CeO2

Abstract

The produced glasses with the chemical formula 60B₂O₃–20Na₂O–15ZnO–5Bi₂O₃–XCeO₂, with X = 0.0 (Ce-0.0)—0.9 (Ce-0.9) mol% glasses have been studied in terms of their physical, optical, and dielectric properties. Densities (ρ) ranged from 3.16 g/cm³ to 3.29 g/cm³. The absorbance spectra revealed that the broad near-visible band for the Ce-0.0 sample had a central wavelength of λ_cutoff = 430.03 nm, but for the Ce-0.9 glass sample, it shifted towards a higher wavelength of λ_cutoff = 548.63 nm. The direct optical band gap (\({E}_{g}^{Direct}\)) decreased From 3.10 eV to 2.52 eV and the indirect optical gap (\({E}_{g}^{Indirect})\) declined from 2.95 eV to 2.22 eV. Urbach’s energy (E_U) values decreased from 0.273 eV to 0.211 eV as the CeO₂ content in the glass network increased, although refractive index (n) values increased from 2.39 to 2.60. With an increase in CeO₂ content, the Ce-X glasses’ molar polarizability (α_m) and molar refraction (R_m) were improved. The generated glasses’ dielectric spectroscopy is examined at room temperature at frequencies ranging from 50 Hz to 5 MHz in order to assess the chemical modifications caused by cerium doping on dielectric spectroscopy elements such the dielectric constant (ɛ^′) and tangent loss (tan δ). The ε^′ of all the glasses loaded with various concentrations of cerium decreases significantly as the frequency rises during the low frequency interval. The energy absorption (EABF) and exposure (EBF) accumulation factors had their lowest values at 1 MFPs and their highest values at 40 MFPs. The samples with Ce-0.9 possessed the lowest values of relaxation length (λ_FRNCS) and half value layer (HVL_FRNCS). The suggested glasses can be used in various optoelectronics and electrical devices.