Synthesis, structural investigation, mechanical calculations and photon shielding properties of CaO-K2O-Na2O-P2O5 glass system

The physical and structural properties of the (40 + x) P2O5 - 20 CaO- (30-x) Na2O - 10 K2O (x increases from 0 to 20 mol% in increments of 5 mol%) glasses have been reported. The sample CKNP40 having highest concentration of Na2O possess the highest value of the various elastic moduli, indicating that this sample possess maximum rigidity and mechanical strength. For attaining the photon shielding competencies, we evaluated the theoretical computations via Phy-X/PSD in the range of 0.015-15 MeV. According to the findings, the mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) values are found to be high (>9 cm2. g-1) in the lowest photon energy for all glass series whereas a sudden reduction in MAC values exists when the photon energy goes through 0.10 MeV, namely around 0.1787 cm2. g-1 and reached to its lowest value (around 0.0216 cm2 g-1) at 15 MeV. On the other hand, one can figure out that the HVL thicknesses varied between 0.032 and 13.72, 0.033 to 14.01, 0.034 to 14.23, 0.034 to 14.50, and 0.035-14.66 cm for CKNP40 to CKNP60 in the respective order. Besides that, we found out that if one requires lower MFP distances, then it is suggested to use lower P2O5 contribution in the CaO-K2O-Na2O-P2O5 glass system.

Automated summary

The study investigated the physical and structural properties of glasses with varying compositions, with findings showing that samples with higher Na2O concentrations exhibited higher elastic moduli, indicating greater rigidity and mechanical strength. The study also evaluated the mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) values and half-value layer (HVL) thicknesses at different photon energy levels, with results varying depending on the glass composition.