Impact of Bi₂O₃ modifier concentration on barium-zincborate glasses: physical, structural, elastic, and...

A sequence of Bi₂O₃ varying barium-zincborate (BZX) glasses with the chemical composition (60-x) B₂O₃-20ZnO-20BaCO₃-xBi₂O₃-0.5Dy₂O₃ (where x = 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 in wt%) is fabricated by melt-quenching method. The fabricated samples were examined for the variation in physical, structural, elastic, and radiation-shielding properties with the Bi₂O₃ concentration. The structural and compositional evaluations are done using XRD and FTIR spectra. The BZX matrixes consist of the trigonal-planar and tetrahedral groups of borates, BiO₃ and BiO₆ units of Bi₂O₃, and the non-bridging oxygen in general. The average single-bond strength values substantiate the increasing ionic nature of the BZX glasses. The variation in the density and molar volume of the BZX series discussed in terms of various structural and elastic properties. The glass-coded BZ15 was found to be the best candidate for the sound-resistant applications based on the atomic packing fraction and the acoustic impedance studies. With MCNP5 simulation, the mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) values of all the samples were calculated and compared with a theoretical approach using the XCOM program. As the amount of Bi₂O₃ increases, the linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) increases with it at all energies. The LAC values varied between 0.2805 and 0.5269 cm^-1 for the investigated glasses at 0.81 MeV. BZ30 glass is the more effective shield due to the highest MAC and LAC values.