Three glass composites were developed and examined in this study for
their potential application as transparent materials for radiation shielding and
detectors.
In the first part, six glasses were created using the composition of
glass system through the
conventional melting method. The addition of BaCO3 led to an increase in
parameters such as molar volume and density, indicating a higher compactness.
FTIR data revealed a continuous increase in the transformation of units from
BO3 to BO4 with Ni doping in the glass sample. The presence of nickel as a
structural modifier in the glass network, occupying octahedral sites, was
confirmed through this transformation. The formation of non-bridging oxygen
atoms in the network glass was also identified, resulting in a decrease in the
structural stability of the glass system. MAC, Zeff of the glass samples, and EBF
were calculated at different photon energies with range of (0.015–15) MeV.
While the addition of BaCO3 was found to slightly reduce the fast neutron
removal cross-section, it significantly enhanced the ability of the prepared glass
samples to shield gamma and x-rays at low-energy regions.
In the second part of the investigation, the glass composition was analyzed.
The composition consisted of 20 Na2O - 10 SiO2 - 1 NiO – 2 P2O5- (67-x)
B2O3 - x BaO, where x varied between 0, 2, 5, 8, and 12 mol%. XRD was used
to verify the composition by synthesizing it through the melt quench process. It
was observed that when BaO was added to the glass sample, both density and
homogeneity increased. The inclusion of NiO and P2O5 in the specimens
resulted in the transformation of BO3 units into BO4 units, and this
transformation escalated with the introduction of BaO. This alteration
substantiated the significance of nickel as a pivotal structural modifier within the
glass framework, as it occupied the octahedral positions in the structure.
Additionally, the existence of non-bridging oxygen atoms in the glass
framework was observed, leading to a reduction in the structural stability of the
glass system. The MAC and Zeff of the specimens were computed at various
photon energies. The findings clearly demonstrated that the MAC and other
parameters were influenced by the concentration of BaO and its incorporation
into the glass composition.
