Ta 2 O 5 reinforced Bi 2 O 3-TeO 2-ZnO glasses: Fabrication, physical, structural characterization, and radiation shielding efficacy

The melt-quenching method was applied to fabricate a new glass series containing 10Bi(2)O(3)-70TeO(2)-(20-x)ZnOxTa(2)O(5), x = 0, 2, 4, and 6 mol%. The chemical compounds were well mixed and melted in a furnace at 900 degrees C, and then the molten transferred to another furnace at 320 degrees C for annealing. X-ray diffraction is used to confirm the amorphous phase of the fabricated glasses. Moreover, the fabricated glasses' structure characterization was established using Raman analyses. Besides, the gamma-ray protection capacity was evaluated for the fabricated glass series. Thus, the MCNP-5 simulation code and XCOM software program were utilized to estimate the investigated glass samples' linear attenuation coefficients. The glass sample's highest attenuation coefficient, with 6 mol % of the Ta2O5 doping ratio is ranged between 418.17 and 0.27 cm(-1). In comparison, the fabricated glass without Ta2O5 possesses the lowest attenuation factor and decreased from 359.39 cm(-1) to 0.26 cm(-1), raising the incoming photon energy from 0.015 MeV to 15 MeV, respectively. The simulated linear attenuation coefficient was then applied to calculate the half-value thickness, and transmission factor for the incoming photons. The obtained results showed that the fabricated glass samples' shielding ability enhanced with the insertion of the Ta2O5.

Automated summary

A new glass series doped with Ta2O5 was fabricated using the melt-quenching method, and its structure was characterized by X-ray diffraction and Raman analyses, indicating that the shielding ability of the glass was enhanced with the insertion of Ta2O5. The linear attenuation coefficients of the glass samples were evaluated through simulation, showing improved attenuation with increasing Ta2O5 doping ratio.