Enhancing ionizing radiation shielding properties with PbO and ZnO substitutions in B2O3–BaO–TiO2 novel glass system

Abstract

In this study, a system of four glass samples was fabricated, using the conventional melt-quenching technique, for potential use in shielding against ionizing radiation. Different attenuation parameters were evaluated and studies using Phy-X software in the energy range of 15 keV to 1 MeV. These parameters included the linear attenuation coefficient ($\mu$), mean-free path, half-value layer, radiation protection efficiency (RPE%), specific dose constant (Γ), and dose rate measured in Roentgens per hour. The results indicate that upon substitution of PbO and ZnO on the B₂O₃ site, an enhancement in the attenuation properties was observed. For instance, at 0.02 MeV, $\mu$ rises from 76.867 cm⁻¹ with mass density $\rho =3.8g/c{m}^3$ for BZnPb05 sample to 220.21407 cm⁻¹ with $\rho =5.333g/c{m}^3$ for BZnPb20 sample. In addition, at lower energy levels (0.015–0.1 MeV), RPE remains consistently high (close to 100%), indicating strong shielding capability. On the other hand, SRIM code was used to evaluate the stopping power and the range of charged particles such as protons and alpha particles as they projected into the glass materials across different energy levels. Protons show a substantial charge collection effect at energies below 0.09 MeV, while alpha particles demonstrate a similar effect around 0.7 MeV. In addition, protons exhibit greater range compared to alpha particles, attributed to the latter's higher mass and charge, resulting in more significant energy dissipation within materials they traverse. The investigated glass samples in this study can be nominated as radiation shielding materials based on acquired results.