Effect of Fe2O3 doping on structural, FTIR and radiation shielding characteristics of aluminium-lead-borate glasses

The ordinary method of melt quenching was utilized to manufacture 55B2O3- 30Pb3O4-(15 - x) Al2O3- xFe2O3, glasses where x: (0< 5). The amorphous state of this system was investigated using X-ray diffraction. The structure of each sample was examined using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR). As Fe2O3 levels increased, FTIR revealed that connectivity increased, and the FT-IR spectral shifts to higher wavenumbers. The MCNP5 code was utilized to simulate the fabricated glasses' radiation protection parameters. The highest mass attenuation coefficient (mu m) values were observed at 0.015 MeV, varied between 80.67 and 80.918 cm2/g with increasing the Fe2O3 concentration between 0 and 5 mol%, respectively. Moreover, the lowest mu m values achieved glass without Fe2O3 content, reduced from 80.67 to 0.0457 cm2/g between 0.015 and 15 MeV. The effective and equivalent atomic numbers, as well as the buildup factors, were calculated using the BXCOM.

Automated summary

In this study, glasses with varying Fe2O3 content were prepared using the conventional melt quenching method, and their amorphous state was investigated using X-ray diffraction and FTIR. It was found that increasing Fe2O3 levels led to enhanced connectivity in the glasses. Additionally, the radiation protection parameters of the fabricated glasses were simulated using the MCNP5 code.