Structural investigation of bismuth borate glasses under the influence of γ-irradiation through ultrasonic studies

The ultrasonic velocity and attenuation measurements for different compositions of irradiated heavy metal oxide (HMO) borate glasses xBi(2)O(3) (1-x) B2O3 (where x = 0.25, 0.30, 0.35, 0.40, 0.45) has been investigated at room temperature (303 K) using pulse echo overlap method. The elastic moduli, Debye temperature, Poisson's ratio and other acoustical parameters have been obtained from experimental data. Structural changes after irradiation have been investigated by using FTIR spectroscopy and ultrasonic studies. As the changes are strongly dependent on the internal structure of the absorbing substance, in the present investigation ultrasonic velocities before and after gamma-irradiation in bismuth borate glasses are measured as a function of composition, from which the structural changes in the network former B2O3 and modifier Bi2O3 due to irradiation are obtained. Crown Copyright (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.