Synthesis, optical characteristics, and gamma-ray attenuation of lithium phosphate glass loaded with gadolinium and lanthanum

Abstract

In this comprehensive research, the radiation shielding and physical properties of new P/Li zinc bismuth glass containing varying amounts of xLa₂O₃ and yGd₂O₃ contents were investigated. The density increased from 2.9623 to 3.1074 g/cm³ and the molar volume decreased upon the injection of a fixed amount of La₂O₃ and a growing quantity of Gd₂O₃. Optical absorption investigations were carried out in the UV–visible range. There was a blue shift within the optical absorption edge. The values of E_g were raised and Urbach energy (E_u) was decreased with increasing doping quantity. Non-linear refractive coefficient (n₂), metallization parameter (M), and the third-order non-linear optical susceptibility (χ³) were enhanced with doping. The predicted values of attenuation parameters were computed by the Phy-X program and compared with MCNP5 (Monte Carlo N-particle) simulations at energy domain 0.015–15 MeV. The simulated results were confirmed to be accurate, with the biggest relative divergence between MCNP5 simulation and Phy-x being 1.4%. In order to look into the possible applications of the suggested glass system as radiation protective materials, additional significant shielding parameters, such as (LAC), (Z_eff), (MFP), (HVL), and (RPE), were also computed based on MAC values. Superior shielding properties are provided by the glass sample with 0.5% La₂O₃ and 1.0% Gd₂O₃ in comparison to the widely used radiation shields. The results indicate that the glass system that was built has a bright future in gamma shielding applications since it may be modified to suit the intended purpose.