Performance of Iron Phosphate Glass Containing Various Heavy Metal Oxides for Particulate Nuclear Radiation Shielding

Employees may be exposed to different kinds of ionizing radiation at work. When ionizing radiation interacts with human cells, it can cause damage to the cells and genetic material. Therefore, one of the scientists' primary objectives has always been to create the best radiation-shielding materials. Glass could offer promising shielding material resulting from the high flexibility of composition, simplicity of production, and good thermal stability.

The melt-quenching technique was used to create a glass having the following formula: 50% P₂O₅+20% Na₂O+20% Fe₂O₃+10% X, where X = As₂O₃, SrO, BaO, CdO, and Sb₂O₃ mol %. The impact of the different heavy metal additions on the structure of the glass networks was studied using FTIR spectroscopy. Glass's ability to attenuate neutrons and/or charged particles has been theoretically investigated. The performance of the developed glass as a shield was examined by a comparison against commercial glass (RS 253 G18), ordinary concrete (OC), and water (H₂O).

For charged particle radiations (Electrons, Protons, and Alpha), the shielding parameters like the mass stopping power, the projected range, and the effective atomic number were evaluated, where S5/Sb glass achieves the best performance. In the case of Neutrons, the results values reveal that S3/Ba glass ( Σ_R = 0.105) is the best-modified glass for neutron shielding.

Among all the investigated glasses, S5/Sb glass composition has a smaller range and provides superior protection against charged particles. In contrast, the S3/Ba glass composition is a superior choice for shielding against neutron radiation.