Optical and gamma-ray shielding properties of calcium sodium borate glasses with varied equal concentrations of ZnO and BaO

This study presents the optical and radiation shielding characteristics of a newly developed borate glass, doped with equal quantities of ZnO and BaO, and modified with calcium and sodium. The glass samples were prepared using the melt quenching technique, with the composition formula (80-x-y)B₂O₃-10CaO-10Na₂O-xZnO-yBaO, where x and y were varied at 5, 10, 15, and 20 mol%. Comprehensive analyses of the optical and gamma shielding properties were carried out using UV–visible spectrophotometry and Phy-X software, respectively. The UV–visible spectroscopic data allowed for the calculation of various parameters including the direct and indirect optical energy band gaps, refractive index, dielectric constants, and polarizability. It was observed that the direct optical energy band gap decreased from 3.91 to 3.10 eV, while the indirect band gap fell from 3.41 to 2.91 eV with increasing ZnO and BaO content. Conversely, the refractive index rose from 2.29 to 2.42 with higher concentrations of ZnO and BaO. The linear attenuation coefficients (LACs) across the range of 0.015–15 MeV exhibited an inverse relationship. Among the glass samples, B40Zn20Ba20 exhibited the lowest tenth value layer (TVL) and the highest effective atomic number (Zeff), indicating its superior performance as a radiation shielding material. Overall, the produced glass samples demonstrate commendable properties for both optical applications and radiation shielding.