Broad analysis on physical, optical, and radiation attenuation properties of barium borosilicate glasses

A borosilicate glasses, (75-x-y) B₂O₃ + 5Na₂O + xPbO + 20SiO₂ + yBaO (where x = y = 15, 20 and 25 mol %), were prepared by the melt-quenching process. The optical properties were investigated using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The mechanical properties indicate the firmness of the prepared multi-former glasses. The direct and indirect transitions' band gap values were calculated, discussed and reported. The Phy-X software was used to investigate the radiation shielding properties in the 0.122-0.964 MeV energy range, corresponding to Eu-152 emissions. The mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) and linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) results show the glass has a high attenuation performance with 25 mol% of PbO and BaO. The results showed that the impact of PbO and BaO on the MAC and LAC is more obvious at 0.122 MeV. The TVL results suggested that an average thickness of 0.3 cm from the prepared glass is required to attenuate 90 % of the incoming radiation with an energy of 0.122 MeV. Among the prepared glasses, the glass with a composition of 25B₂O₃-5Na₂O-25PbO-20SiO₂-25BaO has the best radiation shielding performance.