Simulation of the impact of Bi2O3 on the performance of gamma-ray protection for lithium zinc silicate glasses

In order to enhance the radiation shielding properties for the lithium zinc silicate glasses and become suitable for gamma-ray protection applications, a partial replacement for the silicon oxide by bismuth oxide was performed. The Monte Carlo (MC) simulation was applied to evaluate the shielding capacity of the investigated glasses. The results recorded by the MC code showed that the replacement of the SiO2 by Bi2O3 causes a significant increase in the investigated glasses shielding capacity. It is varied from 46.732% to 104.207% for the samples containing 20 and 40 mol% of Bi2O3 concentrations compared to the sample containing only 10 mol% of the Bi2O3 at low gamma-photon energy of 0.224 MeV. Moreover, the highest mu values in the present study were received by the glass sample containing 40 mo% of Bi2O3 where the mu varied between 2.700 and 0.216 cm(-1) when the applied gamma photon energy increased from 0.244 to 2.506 MeV.

Automated summary

By partially replacing silicon oxide with bismuth oxide, the radiation shielding properties of lithium zinc silicate glasses can be significantly enhanced. The Monte Carlo simulation showed that the replacement of SiO2 with Bi2O3 leads to a substantial increase in the shielding capacity of the glasses.