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In this this paper, five transparent and non-toxic glasses with the chemical identity : 75TeO 10MoO 3 10BaO (5- x)Sm 2 O 3 x Bi 2 O 3 with x = 0 (TMBS-0Bi), 2 (TMBS-2Bi), 4 (TMBS-4Bi), 4.5 (TMBS-4.5Bi), and 5 (TMBS-5Bi) were synthesized using analytic grade chemicals following the melt and quench process. The glasses were characterized for their physical, optical, structural and gamma radiation attenuation attributes. The glasses appear transparent with colour gradient dictated by chemical content. XRD data and analysis confirm the glassy nature of the prepared glasses. As the Bi 2 O 3 content increased, the glass density increased from 5.46 to 5.64 g/cm3. The direct optical bandgap also showed variations with TMBS-5Bi having the highest value of 2.56 eV. The mass attenuation coefficient (µ / ρ) of the glasses was determined through FLUKA simulation and direct XCOM calculations. Results showed great agreement between µ / ρ obtained from both methods. The analysis of photon response parameters of the glasses indicated energy and chemical content variations for photon energies 15–15000 KeV. Generally, parameters relating to gamma ray absorption show improvement as Bi 2 O 3 was enhanced in the glasses. therefore, TMBS-5Bi and TMBS-0Bi is the best and weakest photon absorber among the prepared glasses. The TMBS-5Bi offer good alternative as a transparent and environmentally friendly glass for radiation control applications. The TMBS-XBi glasses are attractive optical materials on one hand, they are also considered candidates in radiation protection functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The variation in dosimetric parameters such as mass attenuation coefficient, half value layer factor, exposure buildup factor, and the photon mean free path for different oxide glasses for the incident gamma energy range 0.015–15 MeV has been studied using MicroShield code. It has been inferred that the addition of PbO and Bi 2 O 3 improves the gamma ray shielding properties. Thus, the effect of chemical composition on these parameters is investigated in the form of six different glass compositions, which are compared with specialty concrete for nuclear radiation shielding. The composition termed ‘Glass 6’ in this paper has the highest mass attenuation and the smallest half value layer and may have potential applications in radiation shielding. An example dry storage cask utilizing an additional layer of Glass 6 as an intermediate shielding layer, simulated in MicroShield, is capable of reducing the exposure rate at the cask surface by over 20 orders of magnitude compared to the case without a glass layer. Based on this study, Glass 6 shows promise as a gamma-ray shielding material, particularly for dry cask storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]