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Novel zinc alumina bismuth borate glass system was fabricated according to the empirical formula x(ZnO)–5(Al2O3)–30(BiO3)–65-x(B2O3) with x = 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 mol% using conventional glass melt-quenching technique. The structural, elastic and shielding properties of the ZnO–Al2O3–BiO3–B2O3 glasses were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), density, molar volume, ultrasonic velocities, and EPICS2017 simulation. The glass structure's amorphous phase was confirmed by XRD measurement. From the density measurement, the addition of ZnO will increase the density from 4.275 to 5.018 g/cm3 and the molar volume decreased from 44.479 to 38.595 cm3/mol. In addition, the OPD is decreased from 67.45 to 62.19 mol/cm3. The elastic properties approximated from measured shear (VS) and longitudinal (VL) ultrasonic velocities indicated that the decrease of B2O3 in glass network cause the rigidity of glasses increased from 2300 to 2621 m/s and 4082–4540 m/s when the ZnO content increased. Meanwhile, the longitudinal (L), shear (G), bulk (K) and Young's (E) modulus increased from 71.23 to 103.43 GPa, 22.61–34.47 GPa, 41.08–57.47 GPa and 57.29 and 86.18 GPa. Besides, Poisson's ratio decreased from 0.267 to 0.250 and micro hardness increased from 3.51 to 5.75 GPa. The EPICS2017 simulation program is used to determine the radiation shielding of the glasses. The results show a very interesting results where the replacement of B2O3 by ZnO causes an improvement of the attenuation competence for the glasses.

Neodymium oxide doped tellurite-based glass has been widely documented for potential uses in optoelectronics, but graphene oxide (GO)-coated tellurite-based glass has rarely been reported. In this work, we compare two sets of glass series which were GO-coated and uncoated tellurite-based glass series denoted as ZBTNd-GO and ZBTNd, respectively. The two sets of glasses were fabricated via melt-quenched process. A set of glass was coated with GO using low-cost spray coating method. The structural and morphological properties of the glass samples were investigated to confirm the type of structure in glass and formation of graphene oxide on glass surface. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern confirmed the amorphous structural arrangement in both sets of glass series. The morphological study proved the existence of GO layers on top of the ZBTNd-GO surface. The optical bandgap energy of ZBTNd-GO glass was found in the range of 3.253 eV–3.381 eV which was higher than ZBTNd glass. Meanwhile, the refractive index of ZBTNd-GO glass varies from 2.301 to 2.332 which was higher than ZBTNd glass due to the presence of functionalized oxygenated groups in GO structure. The oxide ion polarizability of ZBTNd-GO glass was found decreased due to the shift of optical band gap when coated with GO. This work offers a new form of glass that could be used as a new strategy to upgrade the current photonic materials.

Efficient, inexpensive and eye−safe new host glass as up−conversion (UC) emission solid−state laser media became demanding. Nanoparticles (NPs) of various noble metals have been inserted into the phosphate−based amorphous host matrix to enhance the rare-earth ions (REIs) stimulated emission cross−section. Furthermore, only a few reports exist on the combined influences of neodymium ions (Nd3+) and pure silver (Ag) NPs on the structural and optical response of magnesium zinc sulfophosphate (MZSP) glasses. In this view, a series of MZSP glasses were doped by Nd3+ ions and pure Ag NPs (at different concentrations) to improve their structural and optical properties. Such melt−quench synthesized glasses were characterized at room temperature using diverse analytical measurement tools. The XRD pattern of as−quenched samples approved their amorphous nature. The FTIR and Raman spectra of glasses revealed the presence of characteristic bonding vibrations of different functional groups. The TEM images showed the existence of spherical Ag NPs (mean size of 8.34 nm) in the host glass matrix. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band of Ag NPs was detected around 451 nm. The UV–Vis–NIR absorption and PL emission spectra of glasses were utilized to evaluate the Judd−Ofelt (JO) intensity parameters ( Ω 2 , Ω 4 and Ω 6 ) and radiative properties. The observed fluctuation in the Ω 2 values with the increase in Ag NPs contents was attributed to the dynamic change of ligands symmetry around Nd3+ inside the glass network. Variations in the Ω 4 and Ω 6 values with the increase in Ag NPs contents indicated a considerable reduction in the glass rigidity. The PL spectra of glasses exhibited a prominent band around 576–584 nm corresponding to the 2G7/2 +4G5/2 → 4I9/2 transition in Nd3+. Glass prepared with 0.5 mol% of Ag NPs disclosed the highest PL enhancement (≈19 times) and largest emission cross−section (≈4.35 × 10−24 cm2) which was ascribed to the synergism between Ag NPs SPR mediated strong local field effect (LFE) and the subsequent energy transfer to Nd3+ appeared in the proximity of NPs. It was concluded that the proposed glass composition can lead to the development of UC solid−state laser compared to many other reported glass system.