Synthesis, optical, and radiation attenuation properties of CaF2-TeO2-Na2B4O7-CuO glass system for advanced shielding applications

We fabricated a new series of sodium tetraborate (Na2B4O7) containing TeO2, CaF2, and CuO for advanced performance in optical and radiation applications. PHILIPS (Xpert PRO) X-ray diffractometer was employed at room temperature (RT) to investigate the fabricated specimens' amorphous nature. Furthermore, UV-visible spectra and EPR spectra (similar to 9.7 GHz and field modulation 100 kHz) were also achieved for the involved glass system. Moreover, FLUKA Monte Carlo simulations were successfully designed to describe the gamma transmission properties through the fabricated glass specimens. The results reveal that the optical band gap (E-g) decreased from 3.079 to 2.605 eV as the CaF2 content increased from 0 to 50 mol %. In the EPR spectra, fourth parallel hyperfine splittings in the high field are merged with the perpendicular hyperfine splitting's resulting in a single intense line. The gamma transmission studies show that the gamma absorption in the present glasses were highest at the least energy with the value of within the range: 0.0789-0.0229, 0.0789-0.0232, 0.0790-0.0236, 0.0790-0.0241, 0.0791-0.0246, and 0.0792-0.0253 cm(2)g(-1) for CaF2 content of 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 mol %, respectively. It can be concluded that the present fabricated glass system has excellent and promising properties to use for optical and radiation applications.

Automated summary

A series of sodium tetraborate glasses containing TeO2, CaF2, and CuO were fabricated and thoroughly analyzed in this study. The experimental results demonstrated a decrease in optical band gap with increasing CaF2 content, along with significant findings in EPR spectra and gamma transmission studies. Overall, the fabricated glass system exhibits excellent and promising properties for optical and radiation applications.