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Mass attenuation coefficients ( μ / ρ ) for total photon interaction have been determined by using Geant4 package in the energy region 1 keV–1000 MeV for biomolecules such as creatinine hydrochloride, methionine, glycoprotein, glycine, proline and lactose. Such data were then used to calculate the effective atomic numbers ( Z eff ) and effective electron densities ( N eff ) for the biomolecules by using the interpolation method. The simulated μ / ρ values were compared with theoretical XCOM results, and good agreement was observed in intermediate and high energy regions while significant discrepancies up to 20 % were observed in energy region 10–150 keV. Also, it is noted that the variations occur in Z eff for a given biomolecule depending on photon energy and chemical compositions where the K-absorption edge of medium-Z element may affect sharply the energy dependence of Z eff . The μ / ρ and Z eff values are found to be in good agreement with the available experimental data.

MCNPX, Geant4 and FLUKA codes are employed to compute mass attenuation coefficients (μ/ρ) for 20Bi2O3-(80-x)B2O3-xPbO (x = 0, 20, 30, 40 and 60 mol%) glasses at 20, 30, 40 and 60 KeV, 133Ba (81, 161, 223, 276, 303, 356 and 384 keV), 57Co (122 and 136 KeV), 22Na (511 and 1275 keV), 137Cs (662 keV), 54Mn (835 keV), 60Co (1173 and 1333 keV) and 42K (1524 keV) photon peaks where 20, 30, 40 and 60 KeV energies are utilized for Mammography, Dental, General and Computed tomography (CT) scanning accordingly, in this study. All simulated μ/ρ outcomes accuracy was verified by WinXCOM and Phy-X/PSD programs’ μ/ρ findings and we noticed a satisfactory agreement among them. From μ/ρ and linear attenuation coefficient (μ) values effective atomic number (Zeff), effective electron density (Neff), half-value layer (HVL), tenth-value layer (TVL) and mean free path (MFP) have been determined. 20Bi2O3-20B2O3-60PbO (mol%) glass HVL and MFP have been compared with some commercial glasses, alloys, polymers, concretes and lead and ceramics corresponding values. Later equivalent atomic numbers (Zeq) and applying geometric progression (G–P) fitting method at 1 – 40 mfp penetration depths (PDs) at 0.015–15 MeV energy range exposure buildup factors (EBFs) and energy absorption buildup factors (EABFs) were estimated. At all selected twenty energies derived radiation protection efficiency (RPE) results confirmed studied samples’ excellent efficacy for low energy photons absorption. Moreover, applying SRIM codes mass stopping powers (MSPs) and projected ranges (PRs) for protons and α-particles and utilizing ESTAR database electron MSPs and continuous slowing down approximation (CSDA) range for electrons were determined at kinetic energy (KE) range of 0.015–15 MeV. Further fast neutron removal cross-sections (ΣR), for 0.0253 eV energy neutrons coherent and incoherent scattering cross-sections (σcs and σics), absorption cross-section (σA) and total cross-section (σT) quantities were evaluated. Derived ΣR was changed at 0.1166–0.123 cm−1 range depending on PbO addition in chosen samples. 20Bi2O3-80B2O3 (mol%) glass has larger σT (23.094 cm−1) in all studied samples for thermal neutron absorption while 20Bi2O3-20B2O3-60PbO (mol%) sample shows superior attenuation factors for photons and fast neutrons signifying included PbO positive effect.

This work presents a detailed study on the effects of reducing PbO content on the elastic and radiation shielding properties of germanate glasses described by the chemical formula 50GeO2-(50-x)PbO-xZnO, where x between 0 and 50 mol % with step of 10. A theoretical analysis based on Makishima-Mackenzie's theory (MM-theory) was employed to obtain the elastic moduli of the studied glass specimens. Moreover, the Monte Carlo simulations were applied via Geant4 platform to assess the radiation shielding ability of the GeO2-PbO-ZnO glass system by evaluating several fundamental properties such as gamma and neutron transmission factors, total cross sections, effective atomic numbers, 1/e penetration depths, and exposure buildup factors. We found that the bulk elastic modulus increased from 50.751 GPa to 85.389 GPa as the PbO content increased from 50 mol % to 0. The results of the linear attenuation coefficient show that the cross sections of (σ)PE, (σ)CE, and (σ)pp dominates the photon attenuation at 0.15 ≤ E ≤ 0.08; 0.8

In this study, dose rates and radiation attenuation features of a group of fabricated bioactive glasses were investigated. The borate-based 13-93B3 bioactive glass powders (B3) containing cerium (III), gallium (III) or vanadium (IV) were prepared by melting a homogenized mixture of reagent-grade CaCO3, Na2CO3, MgCO3, K2CO3, H3BO3, CaHPO4.2H2O, Ga2O3, V2O5 or Ce(CH3CO2)3, and disc-shaped scaffolds were prepared by die pressing. Bioactive glasses were modelled by using MCNPX (version 2.7.0) general-purpose Monte Carlo code. A gamma-ray transmission set-up was utilized for determination of mass attenuation coefficients. The obtained coefficients were used for determination of other essential attenuation properties. Finally, exposure (EBF) and energy absorption (EABF) build-up factors were determined. Although the chemical structure of the additive material in bioactive glasses is identical, it can be inferred that the chemical structure of the additive is closely linked to the radiation attenuation characteristics of the bioactive glasses. Results also revealed that, although the bulk densities of the disc-shaped bioactive glass samples were lower than the measured true density values of the melt-derived glass powders due to porosity concerns, they exhibited radiation shielding effect. Findings of the study may be useful in understanding the radiation shielding characteristics of the bioactive glass scaffolds fabricated by powder processing. It can be concluded that outcomes of recent investigation can be useful during the evaluation of potential interactions between the bioactive glasses and medical radiation in the body.

The effects of AgO addition on the mechanical, optical, and radiation attenuation parameters of 46V2O5–46P2O5–xB2O3–yAgO glass system, namely VP-BxAy: (x,y) = (8,0), (6,2), (4,4), (2,6), and (0,8) mol%, was examined. Values of molar polarizability (αm, 19.397 × 10–24 to 18.820 × 10–24 cm3) were in direct relation with the molar refractivity (Rm, 48.882—47.427 cm3/mol), while the optical transmission (T) parameter showed an inverse relation with reflection loss (RL) as a function of AgO concentrations. Both static (estatic) and optical (eoptical) dielectric factors showed a direct relation with each other and an opposite trend with the other factors. The values of the bulk modulus (KB-C) were increased from 59.99 to 64.67 GPa. The shear modulus (GB-C) was increased from 32.91 to 36.37 GPa, longitudinal modulus (LB-C) was increased from 103.77 to 103.05 GPa, and Young’s modulus (EB-C) was increased from 83.48 to 91.89 GPa, respectively. The results of Poisson’s ratio (σC-B) have a decreasing trend from 0.268 to 0.263. Moreover, the radiation attenuation properties of VP-BxAy glasses for photons, neutrons (fast and thermal), and charged particles (electron, proton, and alpha) are investigated. The Monte Carlo method was employed via FLUKA code to investigate photons attenuation properties of the examined glasses. The simulation implementation was experimentally and theoretically confirmed. Linear attenuation coefficients (LAC) of VP-BxAy glasses followed the trend: (LAC)VP-B0A8 > (LAC)VP-B2A6 > (LAC)VP-B4A4 (LAC)VP-B6A2 > (LAC)VP-B8A0. Therefore, AgO addition played an improvement role in the photon attenuation processes. The VP-BxAy glasses showed superior attenuation properties for photons beam compared with different photon attenuators. This indicates that the VP-BxAy glasses have superior features to use as promising shields for various applications against photons beam (X or gamma radiation).

In the present work, we have studied the effect of Sb2O3 addition on gamma, neutron, and charged particles attenuation properties of tellurite glasses in the chemical structure of 84TeO2 + xSb2O3 + 1V2O5 + (15-x)Nb2O5, where x is between 0 and 15 mol% with step of 5. Monte Carlo simulations (by using FLUKA code) were employed to investigate the gamma attenuation parameters for photon energies of 0.6, 1.25, 1.5, 2, 3, 5, and 10 meV. For every photon energy, the results of FLUKA simulations were theoretically approved using the XCOM approach. The obtained results show that the Sb2O3 addition increased the mass attenuation coefficient (µ/ρ) ranges from 0.03318 to 0.08003, 0.03334–0.08021, 0.03349–0.08038, and 0.03363–0.08054 cm2 g−1 for TSVN1, TSVN2, TSVN3, and TSVN4, respectively. For the studied glasses, the maximum (minimum) effective atomic number (Zeff) was obtained at 10 meV (1.25 meV) with corresponding values of 28.85 (21.58), 29.80 (22.27), 30.77 (23.00), and 31.78 (23.77). The exposure rate (ER) follows the trend: (ER)TSVN4 > (ER)TSVN3 > (ER)TSVN2 > (ER)TSVN1. Different effects of Sb2O3 addition were observed on the shielding properties for the thermal and fast neutrons. Finally, the influences of Sb2O3 addition on the attenuation features of the studied glasses were discussed in detail for charged particles such as protons, alpha particles, and electrons. It is concluded that the investigated glass specimens can be utilized for various nuclear applications as non-toxic shields against the radiation of gamma, neutron, and charged particles.

Gamma-ray/neutron shielding capacity and mechanical properties of erbium-doped potassium manganese borate glasses with the chemical form of (1 − x)MnO–29K2O–70B2O3–xEr2O3: x = 0–1 mol% coded as E0–E5 via bond compression model, XCOM software, and PHITS simulations have been investigated. The bulk modulus (KB.C) values increased from 90.19 for E0 glass sample with free Er2O3 to 101.24 GPa for E5 glass sample with Er2O3 = 1 mol%. The Young’s modulus (EB.C) increased from 102.68 GPa to 115.38 GPa, while the longitudinal modulus (LB.C) increased from 142.31 GPa to 159.81 GPa for E0–E5 glasses. Poisson’s ratio (σB.C) decreased from 0.310261 to 0.310065 with the increase of Er3+ ions in the investigated glasses. Hardness of E0–E5 glasses was increased from 4.96 GPa to 5.58 GPa. The mass attenuation coefficient (µ/ρ) values were the highest at the least energy of 0.284 MeV with values of 0.1080, 0.1096, 0.1113, 0.1129, 0.1145, and 0.1161 cm2 g−1 for E0, E1, E2, E3, E4, and E5, respectively. Moreover, radiation protection efficiency (RPE) of the E0–E5 glasses was estimated using PHITS simulation code. The highest RPE was observed for E5 glass with a thickness of 5 cm. Finally, the neutron shielding capacity of E0–E5 glasses was evaluated in terms of the fast neutron removal cross section (FNRCS). The values of FNRCS increased by adding Er2O3 content and a sharp increase was observed at xEr2O3: x = 0.8 mol%. Generally, one can conclude that the E5 glass sample with the highest Er2O3 (1 mol%) concentration is the best sample as radiation shield among all the studied glasses.

This paper reports the effect of lead oxide (PbO) on the optical properties and radiation shielding efficiency of Sb2O3–Na2O–WO3–PbO glasses. The optical properties of the glasses were tested by estimating molar refraction (Rm), molar polarizability (αm), metallization principle (M), optical transmission (T), dielectric coefficients (static and optical), and reflection loss (RL). Additionally, the gamma radiation shielding efficiency of the glasses was evaluated via the Monte Carlo method (Geant4 simulations) and the XCOM program. The mass attenuation coefficient (µ/ρ) and other related factors such as effective atomic number (Zeff), half-value layer (HVL), and mean free path (MFP) were calculated at the energy range of 0.25–1.25 meV. Furthermore, the dependence of radiation protection efficiency (RPE) on the thickness of glasses was discussed in detail. The results revealed that at 40 mol% of PbO, the optical transmission was 0.7774 and the reflection loss was 1.1997. A notable increase in RPE as the thickness of the glass changes from 0.5 to 2 cm. The gamma shielding efficiency of the glasses was compared with those of commonly used shields. The reported glasses showed superior properties to apply for radiation shielding applications.

The gamma-ray shielding parameters for ternary lithium borotellurite systems have been reported using Geant4 code. We simulated the mass attenuation coefficients using Geanr4 code between 284 keV and 1.33 MeV. We checked the accuracy of the simulated results by using XCOM software. The Geant4 and XCOM results showed a reasonable agreement. The maximum linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) values were reported at 284 keV and varied between 0.77914 and 0.81525 cm. The minimum LAC is found at 1.33 MeV and varied between 0.23742 and 0.25005 cm. The LAC reduced by 59.7% for TeLiB1 between 284 and 826 keV, while it reduced by only 6.7% at higher energies. The half-value layer (HVL) decreased due to the increase of B2O3 from 5 to 15 mol%, but the HVL values for the glasses which contain 80 mol% of TeO2 are lower than the HVL for the first three compositions (contain 75 mol% of TeO2). TeLiB6 glass is the best attenuator in this study due to the least HVL values of this sample. The results also revealed that TeLiB1 glass with thickness of 2.94803 cm is required to reduce the photon level carrying energy of 284 keV by a factor of one-tenth. For TeLiB6, it requires a sample with a thickness of 2.82123 cm for this aim at the same energy. The effective atomic number for the ternary lithium borotellurite glasses with 80 mol% of TeO2 is higher than those with 75 mol% of TeO2.

In this paper, we used Geant4 Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the effect of TiO2/V2O5 substitution on the radiation shielding properties of alkali borate glasses in the chemical form of 30Li2O+55B2O3+5ZnO + xTiO2+(10 - x)V2O5, where x = 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10 mol%. Also, the optical properties were examined by evaluating several factors such as molar refraction (Rm), metallization criterion (M), molar polarizability (αm), dielectric coefficients (static and optical), optical transmission (T), and reflection loss (RL). The radiation shielding properties of the tested glasses were estimated by determining the mass attenuation coefficient, and other related factors such as the tenth value layer (TVL), the mean free path (MFP), the electron total stopping powers (Ψe) and the electron continuous slowing down approximation range (CSDA) (Φe) for different energy values. The results of Geant4 Monte Carlo were compared with the theoretical values calculated by XCOM platform. The results revealed that the TiO2/V2O5 substitution had a remarkable influence on the gamma shielding properties for the tested glasses. On the other hand, the optical properties slightly changed by the TiO2/V2O5 substitution. The gamma shielding properties of the tested glasses were compared with many samples in terms of MFP. The present glasses showed superior features to apply for optical and radiation shielding applications.

For Pb-free 35B2O3‒35Bi2O3‒(30–x)TeO2‒(x)BaO (x = 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 mol%) and (90–x)TeO2‒10Bi2O3‒(x)BaO (x = 10, 15, and 20 mol%) glass systems, gamma and neutron (both fast and thermal neutron) radiation shielding features were examined and compared. Within 0.015–15 MeV photon energy, mass attenuation coefficients (μ/ρ), for all samples, which have been assessed using WinXCOM program are in fair agreement with deduced MCNP5 simulation code μ/ρ results. For all selected samples, at the lowest energy, μ/ρ has bigger values whereas at higher energy regions possess lower values. Furthermore, by employing μ/ρ values, effective atomic number (Zeff), effective electron density (Neff), half-value layer (HVL), tenth-value layer (TVL), and mean free path (MFP) are figured out for both glass systems. For studied samples, with the gradual replacement of TeO2 content with BaO, the derived values of Zeff, HVL, TVL, and MFP revealed improved γ-ray shielding potentiality. Besides, within photon energy range of 0.015–15 MeV, exposure build-up factors (EBFs) and energy absorption build-up factors (EABFs) were estimated for all samples by utilizing G‒P fitting method as a function of different penetration depths (0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 mfp). The 35B2O3–35Bi2O3–5TeO2–25BaO (mol%) glass relatively larger μ/ρ and Zeff values, lower HVL, TVL, and MFP values, and minimal EBF and EABF values confirm its superior γ-ray attenuation competence among all samples. Additionally, in comparison, HVL and MFP values of 35B2O3–35Bi2O3–5TeO2–25BaO (mol%) sample are lower than the respective values of some commercial γ-ray shielding glasses and different types of standard concretes, signifying its better shielding features than them. Moreover, macroscopic removal cross-section for fast neutrons (ΣR), coherent scattering cross-section (σcs), incoherent scattering cross-section (σics), absorption cross-section (σA), and total cross-section (σT) for thermal neutrons absorption were derived for both glass systems. Among all selected glasses, 35B2O3–35Bi2O3–5TeO2–25BaO (mol%) sample possesses relatively higher ΣR (0.106 cm−1) and ‘σT’ (8.809 cm−1 at 0.0253 eV neutron energy) values for fast and thermal neutrons attenuation, respectively, demonstrating its favorable absorption capability for neutrons.

In the clinical computed tomography (CT) examinations, a photon is attenuated as it passes a patient by tissues and contrast agents (CAs). The CAs can increase the visibility of internal structures or fluids within the patient. In this work, we have investigated the photon interaction parameters of some CT contrast agents such as iotrolan, iodixanol, iohexol, ioxilan, ioversol, and iomeprol. The mass attenuation coefficients ( μ / ρ ) of these contrast agents have been determined using Geant4 code in the energy range from 1 keV to 1 MeV for total photon interaction. The validity of the Geant4 code was verified by comparing the simulation results with those calculated by the XCOM program. A very good agreement was observed between μ / ρ values obtained by both Geant4 and XCOM codes. The μ / ρ values were then used to estimate the effective atomic numbers ( Z e f f ) and electron densities ( N e f f ) for the selected CT contrast agents. It was found that the values of μ / ρ , Z e f f and N e f f depend on the photon energy and increase with increasing iodine concentration in the composition of CAs. Also, the Z e f f values were observed in the range of 6–50 and the N e f f values were observed in the range of 2 – 21 (1023 electron/g). The present study would be helpful to develop new CT contrast agents to serve in vivo imaging applications.

This paper examines the gamma-ray shielding features of some selected tellurite-based glasses in the form of xMoO3(100−x)TeO2 (20 ≤ x ≤ 50 mol%). Mass attenuation coefficients (μ m ) of these glasses have been calculated using Geant4 toolkit and XCOM program for photon energy range of 1 keV—1000 MeV. The correlation factor (R2) between these two methods was found to be almost one. Shielding effectiveness for these glasses has been estimated by computing half value layer (HVL), effective atomic number (Z eff ), and mean free paths (MFP). It was noticed that the heavy metal oxide of TeO2 plays an important role in improving the shielding effectiveness of the glasses. The Mo20Te80 glass has shown the promising properties to serve for gamma ray protection applications as compared with many conventional concretes and other newly developed glasses.

In this paper, five barium borate glasses in the chemical composition of $$40\hbox {SiO}_2$$–$$10\hbox {B}_2\hbox {O}_3$$–xBaO–(45-x)CaO–yZnO–zMgO (where $$x = 0, 10, 20, 30$$, and 35 mol$${y}=z=6\,\hbox { mol}\%$$) have been reported for radiation protection applications. Mass attenuation coefficient ($$\mu /\rho$$) was obtained in the photon energy range of 356 keV–2.51 MeV using PHITS code for the proposed glasses. The $$\mu /\rho$$ values generated by PHITS code were verified by using both of FLUKA code and XCOM program. The $$\mu /\rho$$ values were then applied to derive effective atomic number ($${Z}_\mathrm{eff}$$), mean free path (MFP), and half value layer (HVL) for all the glasses involved. Additionally, the fast neutron removal cross sections were calculated for each glass. The results reveal that gamma-shielding properties evolve upon adding BaO content in the glasses. It is found that SBC-B35 glass has superior shielding capacity against gamma rays and fast neutrons as compared with different conventional shielding materials and commercial glasses.

Tellurite glasses own some unique properties that can serve human being developments in several applications. This research work aims to study the optical properties and radiation shielding performance of tellurite glasses containing Li2O and MoO3 described by the formula of xLi2O – (80–2x)TeO2 – (20+x)MoO3, where x = 0, 10, and 20 mol%. The results of the optical studies show that the optical transmission (T) of the studied glass samples increased from 1.21 to 1.42 as the Li2O content increased from 0 to 20 mol%. Such increase was associated with a clear decline in the values of the static dielectric constant of the samples. On the other hand, FLUKA simulation was extensively used to assess and test the radiation shieling performance for each sample involved. The findings of this part reveal that the attenuation factors (e.g. MACs) of LTM glasses varied from 0.038003 cm2/g to 0.16151 cm2/g for LTM-A, from 0.03813 to 0.15611 cm2/g for LTM-B and from 0.03825 cm2/g to 0.14948 cm2/g for LTM-C. Moreover, the transmission factors (e.g. HVLs) of the LTM glasses were minimum at 0.284 MeV with value of 0.814437 cm, 0.90430 cm and 1.03275 cm for LTM-A, LTM-B and LTM-C, respectively. Finally, a large scale comparison was achieved between the studied glass samples and the commercially available ones for several photon energies. This comparison confirmed the utility of using the present glass samples as transparent shielding materials in several applications whether this is in hospitals or any other technological facilities.

In this study the optical parameters and radiation shielding competence of a new glass system is presented. The chemical architecture of the glasses are given as 60Li2O3-10Y2O3-(30-x)B2O3-xDy2O3 (where x = 0.05, 0.5, and 1.5 mol% for LYBD1–3 glass samples). The molar refractivity RMol, molar polarizability αm × 10−24 cm−3, reflectance loss RL, and optical transmission TOpt values were influenced by the chemical description of the glasses. The RMol, αm × 10−24 cm−3, and TOpt all increased as Dy2O3 increased while on the other hand, the reflectance loss declined. The radiation shielding competence of the glasses were investigated through quantities such as the linear attenuation coefficient LAC, mass attenuation coefficient MAC, effective atomic number Zeff, half value layer HVL, and mean free path MFP for photons while the fast neutron removal cross section Σ R was used for fast neutron. The LAC values of the glasses were evaluated through FLUKA simulations and validated through XCOM computation for photon energies 0.284–2.506 MeV. LAC changes from 0.3105 to 0.1016 cm−1 for LYBD1, 0.3239 to 0.1032 cm−1, for LYBD2, and 0.3504 to 0.1040 cm−1 within the energy investigated spectrum. Also, the magnitude of Z eff fluctuates with energy and ranges from 7.53 to 8.38 for LYBD1, while for LYBD2, the variation is from 7.77 to 8.82, and 8.13 to 9.78 for LYBD3. Other evaluated photon shielding parameters showed that the increment of Dy2O3 had a positive influence on the photon shielding capacity of the glasses. The trend of the fast neutron removal cross section Σ R is such that LYBD1 > LYBD2 > LYBD3 with values varying from 0.1064 to 0.1103 cm−1. Comparing the gamma-ray and fast neutron absorbing efficiency of the LYBD glasses with common radiation shields revealed that: the LYBD glasses shield photons and moderate fast neutrons better than some common shields. The LYBD glasses consequently showed good potential for radiation shielding applications. The optical transparency of the glasses also makes them attractive candidates as transparent shields in medical applications of photons.

In this work, glass composed of (40 + x) PbO–5 TeO2–15 BaO–(20 − x) Na2O–20 B2O3 (x = 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 mol%) was prepared via melt-quenching and the gamma-shielding competency was studied. The results showed that the density and molecular weight increased from 5.006 to 7.121 (gcm−3) and 146.579 to 178.823 (g) as Na2O was replaced by PbO. The direct and indirect bandgap energies decreased from 3.512 to 3.357 and 2.791 to 2.525 eV as the lead concentration increased from Pb40Na20–Pb60Na0. We employed the Geant4 simulation code for narrow-beam geometry with a mono-energetic photon beam imposed on a glass specimen. The mass attenuation coefficient (µ/ρ) for the fabricated glass was determined using the Geant4 simulation code. The difference between the theoretical values (XCOM) and simulated values (Geant4) was less than 7%, confirming the accuracy of the present results. The µ/ρ values increased quickly with the increasing PbO content at low photon energies, while increasing the energy reduced the increase of the µ/ρ values. The linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) was also evaluated and the results showed that increasing the density increased the attenuation behavior. The Pb60Na0 sample with the highest density (7.121 g/cm3) had the largest LAC values at all energies (in the range of 0.29–1.69 cm−1). The effective atomic number values of the fabricated samples were in the range of 33–70. Pb60Na0 glass with the lowest half-value layer is a promising candidate for radiation-shielding applications among Pb40Na20–Pb60Na0 glass.

In this paper, we have reported $$65\hbox {B}_2\hbox {O}_3$$–$$12.5\hbox {TeO}_2$$–$$12.5\hbox {Bi}_2\hbox {O}_3$$–$$5\hbox {Na}_2\hbox {O}$$–$$5\hbox {NdCl}_3$$ and $$67\hbox {TeO}_2$$–$$20\hbox {WO}_3$$–$$10\hbox {Li}_2\hbox {O}$$–$$3\hbox {PrO}_{11}$$ glasses to serve in radiation protection applications. Mass attenuation coefficient ($$\mu /\rho$$) of the proposed glasses was obtained in the photon energy range of 0.015–15 MeV using GEANT4 Monte Carlo simulation. The simulation results were compared with those calculated by WinXCOM program. The correlation factor ($${R}^2$$) between the simulation and the theoretical values was found to be close to one referring to the high accuracy of the present results. Other essential radiation shielding parameters such as the effective atomic number ($${Z}_\mathrm{eff}$$), half-value layer, and neutron removal cross section ($$\sum _R$$) were calculated for the proposed glass samples. Additionally, G-P method was used to generate exposure buildup factor and energy absorption buildup factor for each proposed glass in the photon energy range of 0.015–15 MeV up to penetration path of 40 mfp. Radiation shielding competence of our glasses was compared with conventional shielding materials, other rare earth glasses, and newly developed HMO glasses. The results reveal that our proposed glass coded as TWLP shows promising shielding competence against both gamma rays and neutrons.

This work aims to research not only neutron and gamma shielding specialties of Sm2O3-doped TeO2–ZnO glasses but also mass stopping power (MSP) and projected range (PR) for alpha and proton particles. Mass attenuation coefficient (μ/ρ) of 60(TeO2)–(40−x)ZnO–x(Sm2O3): x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5 mol%) glasses were obtained using GEANT4 Monte Carlo codes and WinXCOM software. A good agreement was observed between the two outcomes. The insertion of Sm2O3 into the glasses raised the μ/ρ values. It was found that TZSm0.4 glass owns lowest MFP, HVL and TVL values than the other glass samples due to its high specific gravity. Besides, the additive material increased effective atomic number (Zeff) values while the Exposure (EBF) and Energy Absorption (EABF) Buildup Factors decreased which are computed at 0.015–15 MeV photon energies up to 40 mfp. This shows that the addition of Sm2O3 improves the performance of glasses to reduce gamma radiation. Moreover, fast neutron macroscopic cross-sections (ΣR) of the glasses were specified. MSP and PR values were also computed for proton (H1) and alpha (He+2) particles. The outcomes display that the specific gravity of the TZSm glasses are extremely influential on neutron, alpha and proton shielding. With the largest ΣR and lowest PR values, the TZ0.4 glass showed the ability to stop both neutral and charged particles. It can be deduced that TZSM glasses with Sm2O3 addition may be preferred shield materials in the sense of gamma, neutron, alpha and proton attenuation.

In this paper, we investigate the influence of SnO2 content on the physical, elastic, optical, and radiation shielding properties of the glasses described by the formula of xSnO2-(10-x) 60Bi2O3-30PbO- B2O3 (x = 0, 2, 4, and 6 mol%). The oxygen packing density (OPD) are observed in decreasing trend with the values of 54.93, 54.42, 53.92, 53.41 cm−3.mol−1 for x = 0, 2, 4, and 6 mol%, respectively. Moreover, we found that the SnO2 content contributes to enhance the optical properties of the present glasses. The HVL of the glasses was almost constant with a value of about 0.001 cm. However, at the maximum energy (15 MeV), HVL assumes the value of 1.627, 1.621, 1.615, and 1.608 cm for x = 0, 2, 4, and 6 mol%, respectively. Furthermore, the present glasses possess superior photon absorbing capacities compared to several commercial glass and concrete shields. This exemplary shielding capacity shown by these glasses propels them to be as future shielding materials against gamma radiation.

Among diverse glass types such as silicates, borates, or tellurites, germanate glasses (GG) possess great potential in different application areas. To make use of its benefits in radiation shielding applications, the glass compositions of (45-x)Li2O - 55GeO2 - xZnO (x: 0, 10, 15, 20, and 25 mol%) were investigated. The intended glass series, LG-Zn0 to LG-Zn4, was explored by performing physical and optical calculations, mechanical strength estimations, and finally theoretical and simulations radiation shielding characteristics. According to the physical property calculations, ZnO insertion contributes to an increase in ρglass from 3.2434 to 4.1426 g cm−3, whereas causes a decrease in Vm from 21.89 to 20.24 cm3 mol−1. On the other hand, optical feature calculations revealed that the Eg values are decreasing as the ZnO content increases in the glass network, which in turn contributes to increasing the parameter n. In the perspective of mechanical strength estimations, the mechanical moduli can be enhanced owing to the contribution of higher ZnO amounts in the lithium-germanate glass system. On the other hand, with changing ZnO content (from 0 to 25 mol%), we found that the LAC values grow up from 181.410 cm−1 to 234.362 cm−1 at 15 keV, while the increase rate became from 0.349 cm−1 to 0.397 cm−1 at the energy of Co (0.347 MeV) as a result of radiation shielding studies. Based upon LAC findings, mass attenuation coefficient (MAC), effective atomic number (Zeff), and mean free path (MFP) parameters were successfully evaluated. All in all, this work clearly demonstrated that ZnO is a good option for improving the properties in lithium-germanate glass system.

In this paper, a new glass system based on (55-x) B2O3-x Ag3PO4-45 ZnO-5 Na2O (x = 0.0, 5.0, 10.0 and 15.0 mol%) is synthesized via melt quenching technique and the corresponding glass specimens named as BZN-AP1, BZN-AP2, BZN-AP3, and BZN-AP4. X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-IR are employed to evaluate the structure of the samples. The XRD analysis shows that all glass samples are amorphous in nature. UV-IR shows that the increase in Ag3PO4 concentrations results in a red shift in the region of lower photon energy and the energy band gap decreases as the concentration of Ag3PO4 increases. The neutron radiation shielding’s characteristics such as neutron coherent, incoherent and absorption cross section and transmission factor NTF of the glass sample are evaluated. The value of the neutron transmission factor NTF reduced as the thickness of the glass specimen increases. The fast and slow neutron shielding ability of the present glass system reduced as the Ag3PO4 content increased. However, the increase in Ag3PO4 content decreases the coherent, incoherent and absorption cross sections. The results presented in this work demonstrate the pivotal role of Ag3PO4 content on the synthesis, structure, optical, and neutron shielding properties of (55-x) B2O3 – x Ag3PO4 – 45 ZnO-5Na2O) glasses.

The synthesis of alloys doped with a heavy element is proven to be a successful strategy to boost the shielding ability against ionizing radiation. In this paper, four compositions of Al-alloys doped with different weights of Pb are synthesised and studied for their physical features and nuclear radiation shielding characteristics. The produced samples are encoded as PbAl-1, PbAl-2, PbAl-3, and PbAl-4 for Pb content of 20%, 40%, 60%, and 80%, respectively. The gamma shielding characteristics of the produced alloys are investigated via Monte Carlo technique, XCOM theory, and gamma transmission experiment. Moreover, we studied the ability of the produced alloys to stop or attenuate the charged particles and neutrons beam. Finally, the radiation shielding ability of our produced alloys is compared with that of standard and commercial ones. Generally, the PbAl-4 alloy is found to be the best shield possessing the lowest MFP values among the other shielding materials in the whole selected energy region. As a result, these novel alloys show promising features to be used in a range of potential applications available in various medical and nuclear sites.

The melt-quench method was used to create our amorphous with the chemical formula 55 B 2 O 3 – 30 Pb 3 o O 4 – ( 15 − x ) Al 2 O 3 − x Mo O 3 , : ( 0 ≤ x ≤ 5 ) . The purpose of the article is to search and investigate the structural, mechanical characteristics, and radiation proficiency features of prepared glasses. The nature of these glasses has been tested using XRD analysis. Furthermore, the molar volume was obtained, and it decreased with the addition of MoO3 content while the density increased. The mechanical properties were enhanced of the current glass sample by adding MoO3 to modify the glass structure. The ultrasonic speeds ( v L , v T ) and L, G, Y and K of present glass were observed to improve. The radiation shielding performance of the produced glassy samples was assessed via Geant4 simulations and directly through the Phy-X/PSD software. Analysis of obtained results showed that the photon shielding proficiency of the present glassy specimens improved with the increase of MoO3 content. The calculated neutron removal cross section of the glasses grew from 0.07125 to 0.10822 cm−1 as MoO3 content rise from 0 to 5 mol%. The gamma ray and fast neutron absorbing ability of the glass with the highest MoO3 content was superior among the presently investigated glasses and some conventional shields.

Photon, proton, neutron and alpha shielding features of 10TiO2–10SiO2-(80-x)B2O3-xBaO were studied. This study exhibits several photon shielding parameters such as mass attenuation coefficient (MAC), half-value layer (HVL), effective atomic number (Zeff), effective electron density (Neff), gamma dose rate (R/h), specific gamma-ray constant (Γ), and the specific absorbed fraction of the energy (SAFE). The effective removal cross-section of the fast neutron (ΣR), scattering length of the constituent elements, mass stopping power (MSP), and projected range variation parameters were used to explore the particle shielding features. Moreover, the MAC was determined by using Geant4 simulation and compared with the results of the Phy-X program. The percentage error (Δ) was less than 2% for all results, which revealed the agreement between Geant4 simulation and Phy-X program. Although, the addendum of barium oxide (BaO) led to improving the performance of MAC, HVL, Zeff, Neff, and Γ. The ΣR, MSP and projected range variation showed a progressive reduction with incorporation BaO. Lastly, the BaO and SiO2 played an amazing role in enhancement the durability for the glass sample, and the S4 sample exhibits the highest durability compared with other samples. From the obtained results, it can be concluded that the present glass samples can be used in the radiation-shielding field.

This paper presents the radiation attenuation properties and buildup factors of ferroalloys described by the chemical structure of Cr-Fe-Si-C. By using Geant4 Monte Carlo simulations, Phy-X library, and several theoretical approaches, we successfully demonstrated the potential use of ferroalloys in nuclear shielding applications. The results indicate that the density and higher atomic numbers of Cr and Fe play a main role to enhance the radiation attenuation properties and then the nuclear shielding performance of the present alloys. The energy response of μ and μ ρ depicts that PE, CS, and PP are the major attenuation processes within the energy range of 15–600 keV, 800 keV–10 MeV, and at 15 MeV, respectively. At each energy, Z e f f increases with Cr content of the alloy, hence ( Z e f f )CrFeSiC4 > ( Z e f f )CrFeSiC3 > ( Z e f f )CrFeSiC2 > ( Z e f f )CrFeSiC1. This study suggests that the studied ferroalloys are superior radiation shields compared to ordinary concrete, barite concrete, and RS360. They thus have high potential to perform better in radiation protection functions.

In this work, pure NiO and NiO:Cu based photodetectors with different concentrations of Cu dopants (0, 0.5,1.0, and 1.5 wt%) were coated on glass substrates by using a simple, low cost nebulizer spray pyrolysis technique. Their structural, morphological, optical (UV–Vis absorption and photoluminescence), and ultraviolet (UV) sensing features were characterized with state-of-the-art analytical techniques. The structural studies confirm that the prepared films have crystalline nature and possess a cubic structure. From the absorption measurement, the optical bandgap (Eg) of the deposited films decreases with the increase in Cu dopants. Photoluminescence study illustrates that 1.0% of Cu doping significantly improves the physical property of the NiO:Cu films and also its UV sensing study suggests that the 1.0% of NiO:Cu film could be better suited for high-speed optoelectronic devices due to their high Responsivity (0.202 AW-1), External quantum efficiency (47%), and Detectivity (5.9 × 109 jones) values. A possible mechanism of the photodetector performance under air and UV illumination is also discussed in this work.

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Natural and artificial sources of radiation can be encountered in many areas of our lives. Particularly, ionizing radiation has harmful effects on humans therefore researchers look for novel materials an alternative to traditional shielding materials to protect humans. For this purpose, in this paper, newly developed glass-ceramics in the chemical form of (100-x)(40Fe2O3+60P2O5 )+xCeO2, x is between 0 and 8 mol%, were reported in terms of their gamma/neutron attenuation properties to serve for radiation shielding applications. Gamma attenuation features were investigated by using the Monte Carlo method via Geant4 toolkit. From Geant4 simulations, the coefficients of mass attenuation (denoted by μ/ρ or MAC) were extracted and then compared with those of Phy-X/PSD calculations. The MAC values (at 0.015 MeV as an example) increased from 21.029 cm2/g to 24.446 cm2/g as the CeO2 content increased from 0 to 8 mol%. The HVL values are between 0.011-9.830 cm for CFP-0, 0.010-9.376 cm for CFP-2, 0.010-8.863 cm for CFP-4, 0.009-8.675 cm for CFP-6 and 0.009-8.424 cm for CFP-8 in energy range from 0.015-15 MeV. The Zeff values (at 1 MeV gamma energy) are 11.70, 11.84, 11.99, 12.15, and 12.30 for CFP-0, CFP-2, CFP-4, CFP-6, and CFP-8 glass-ceramics, respectively. The maximum Zeq values for the present glass-ceramics are occurred at 1 MeV with the values of 19.21, 22.69, 25.14, 27.10, and 28.73 for CFP-0, CFP-2, CFP-4, CFP-6, and CFP-8 glass-ceramics, respectively. The results show that theoretically, CFP-8 has better photon absorption features due to the higher content of CeO2 among the investigated CFP ceramic glasses. Contrary to these results, there is not considerable variations between among removal cross section (RCS) for fast neutron of CFP glass ceramics with the rising of CeO2.

This research article aims to study the neutron and charged particle attenuation properties of volcanic rocks collected from the western region of Saudi Arabia. The rock samples labeled as VR1, VR2, VR3, and VR4 were experimentally investigated by a Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM) and Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS). The neutron transmission factor (TF) was estimated by using the Monte Carlo technique for different thicknesses varying from 0 to 3 mm. Moreover, we studied the charged particles' interaction properties with the present volcanic rocks for projectile energy up to 2.5 MeV. The obtained results reveal that the neutron TF decreased from 95.2, 95.8, 94.9, and 95.3 % at 0.5 mm to 74.4, 77.4, 73.4, and 75.1 % at 3 mm for the rock samples of VR1, VR2, VR3, and VR4, respectively. We found that the maximum projectile range (ℜ) occurred at the low energy region (0.2 MeV) for charged particle interactions. In comparison, the minimum ℜ occurred at the high energy level (2.5 MeV). Additionally, the values of ℜ come in the order of ℜ electron > ℜ proton > ℜ alpha > ℜ carbon with the minimum values of 185.6, 221.8, 178.8, and 189.8 μm in the case of the electron, and with the values of 0.696, 0.8141, 0.669, and 0.716 μm in the case of carbon ion for VR1, VR2, VR3, and VR4, respectively. This result revealed the VR3 rock sample as a superior shielding material against neutron beams and charged particles among the studied volcanic rocks.

In this paper, a new glass combination containing PbO, Bi2O3, B2O3, and Fe2O3 has been synthesized, characterized, and studied in details for advanced optical and radiation shielding applications. The PbO excess was in the step of 10% at the expense of (Bi2O3+B2O3). The physical and optical parameters were experimentally measured for each prepared glass sample.The structure characterization of the glass specimens was performed by using both FTIR and XRD. Moreover, EPR spectra were studied to give a full understanding about the valence state and interaction of paramagnetic ions. Additionally, Monte Carlo method was utilized to design the simulation setup for studying the radiation propagation through the prepared samples. The obtained results indicate thatthe optical band gap values were found to be high with excess of PbO content. The EPR spectra have shown a high intense resonance signal at g ≈ 4.2 and mild intense signal located at g ≈ 2.1. The magnitudes of linear attenuation coefficients for the glasses at different energies shows that maximum (minimum) value of 290.39 (0.158), 322.67 (0.168), 367.13 (0.184), 431.04 (0.207), 502.32 (0.231), and 574.34 (0.0257) cm−1 was obtained for PBBF-0 – PBBF-50. This investigation lays the foundation for using the prepared glass system as a new candidate in advanced optical and shielding applications.

In this paper, four samples of bismuth barium telluroborate glasses in the chemical composition of 20Bi2O3 + 30BaO + xEr2O3 + (30 – x)B2O3 + 20TeO2, here x is between 0.05 and 2 mol%) coded as BTBE1, BTBE2, BTBE3, and BTBE4 are reported for potential use in nuclear shielding applications. Geant4 simulations were well designed to obtain the mass attenuation coefficient, μ/ρ for the BTBE1 – BTBE4 specimens at 356 keV–2.51 MeV photon energies. Then, the obtained results are confirmed by using WinXCOM platform. The μ/ρ values were used to assess the nuclear shielding capacity of BTBE1 – BTBE4 specimens in terms of effective atomic number, Zeff, mean free path, MFP, and half-value layer, HVL. Additionally, the buildup factors of BTBE1 – BTBE4 specimens were computed via G-P fitting method at 0.015–15 MeV photon energies and up to 40 mfp (penetration depths). Also, the neutron shielding capacity of the glasses was assessed by calculating the removal cross sections (∑R). Our results indicate that there is a remarkable enhancement in the gamma shielding features by adding Er2O3 content in the BTBE1 – BTBE4 specimens. It is found that BTBE4 and BTBE3 glass specimens have high shielding quality against nuclear radiation. Gamma-rays and fast neutrons shielding parameters of the BTBE1 – BTBE4 specimens are compared with several commercial and traditional shielding materials. These comparisons concluded that the reported glasses are quite useful for radiation protection purposes.

In this research article, the radiation shielding properties of newly developed high Fe content amorphous alloys were reported. The chemical compositions of these alloys were Fe83B9C3Si4P1, Fe84B10C2Si2P, Fe85B8C3Si3P1, and Fe86B5C8P1. Monte Carlo simulation method was successfully used to study the problem of radiation propagation through theses alloys under suitable boundary conditions of vacuum. Our results indicate that MAC value decays as photon energy grows varying from 0.0997 to 0.0387, 0.0997–0.0387, 0.0998–0.0387, and 0.0998–0.0387 cm2/g for FBCSP1, FBCSP2, FBCSP3, and FBCSP4 respectively. However, gradual increase was observed in both parameters of mean free path (MFP) and half value layer (HVL) as energy increases. The maximum and minimum value of the effective atomic number (Zeff) was 23.09 and 22.97, 23.29 and 23.17, 23.41 and 23.30, and 23.4 and 23.29 for FBCSP1– FBCSP4 respectively. FNRC (Fast Neutron Removal Cross-section) values were: 0.1538, 0.1538, 0.1536, and 0.1561cm-1 for FBCSP1– FBCSP4 respectively. Moreover, an extensive comparison was reported between the radiation shielding proficiency of the studied alloys and that of the traditional materials. It can be concluded that, FBCSP alloys can conveniently replace the traditional materials in photon shielding application especially when space is a constraint.

The current research article aims to study the radiation shielding competence of a newly developed PbO-B2O3-SeO2-Er2O3:Au2O3 glass ceramic. The concentrations of the constituent oxides were 40, 10, 49.5, and 0.5 mol % for PbO, B2O3, SeO2, and Er2O3, respectively. The studied ceramic specimens were denoted by EA0, EA25, EA50, EA75 and EA100, and their density values were 5.87, 5.92, 5.94, 6.09, and 6.10 g/cm3, respectively. The radiation shielding competence and photon buildup factors of the present ceramics were investigated under the Au2O3/SeO2 substitution with ratio up to 0.1 mol %. The obtained results reveal that the MAC values were reported with 0.233 cm2/g difference between the minimum and the maximum Au2O3 reinforced samples. The highest MAC values were reported for EA100 sample, which has the highest Au2O3 additive in its chemical structure. At 4 MeV photon energy, HVL values were reported as 3.2658 cm, 3.2352 cm, 3.2212 cm, 3.139 cm and 3.1309 cm for EA0, EA25, EA50, EA75 and EA100, respectively. Moreover, the highest values of EBF were observed for the EA100, and the lowest values of EBF were observed for EA0. Therefore, it can be concluded that the present ceramics possess high level shielding competence to use for various applications of gamma radiation. © 2021 The authors extend their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Khalid University for the financial support through research groups program under grant number (R.G.P2/98/41).

Six glass samples of new lead borate with chemical formula 5Al2O3–5Na2O–(90-x)B2O3–xPbO, where 0 ≤ x ≤ 50 mol% have been synthesized using the melt quenching technique. The prepared glasses distinguished by codes as x = 0 (ANBP00)—x = 50 (ANBP50) mol%. The physical properties and gamma-ray shielding capability of the glasses have been investigated. To achieve these aims, the amorphous structure of all glasses was examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. The density and molar volume have been calculated. Density of the glasses increases from 2.133 (g/cm3) for ANBP00 glass sample to 5.010 (g/cm3) for ANBP50 sample. The XMuDat and XCOM programs were used to calculate the mass attenuation coefficient (μ/ρ) in the photon energy range of 0.015–10 MeV for all glasses. The difference between the obtained values of XMuDat and XCOM is found to be less than 1%. Half value layer (HVL), effective atomic number (Zeff), and mean free path (MFP) as γ-ray shielding features have been evaluated using values of the (μ/ρ) for all proposed glasses. Results reveal that ANBP50 and ANBP00 samples possess a maximum Zeff and a minimum Zeff, respectively. Indeed, ANBP50 glass has lowest values of (HVL) and (MFP). Therefore, addition of PbO content in the prepared glasses has a considerable effect to improve the shielding effectiveness for these glasses. Finally, ANBP50 glass can be considered as a promising candidate for gamma-ray protection applications among different types of concretes, commercial glasses, and HMO glasses.

In this study, five samples of tellurite-based glasses with chemical composition TeO2–ZnO–NiO coded as (TZN1–TZN5) have been reported to investigate their optical and gamma-ray shielding properties. Index of refraction (no), molar refraction (RM), molar polarizability (αM), metallization property (M), and static dielectric constant (e) for all the proposed glasses have been determined. Mass attenuation coefficients (μ/ρ) for the proposed glasses were calculated by Geant4 simulation code and WinXCOM software in the photon energy region 0.001–10 MeV. The obtained values from these methods were compared, and the correlation factor for each glass sample (R2) value was found to be 0.999. Based on the obtained values of μ/ρ and densities of the samples, different γ-ray shielding parameters such as half-value layer (HVL), effective atomic number (Zeff), and mean free path were evaluated. The HVL values for the selected glasses decreased in the order TZN1

Mass attenuation coefficients ([Formula: see text]) for some nonlinear optical materials such as potassium dihydrogen phosphate, ammonium dihydrogen phosphate, zinc tris-thiourea sulphate, and zinc thiourea chloride were measured using a [Formula: see text] NaI(Tl) scintillation detector at gamma energies of 122 keV, 356 keV, 511 keV, 662 keV, 840 keV, 1170 keV, 1270 keV, and 1330 keV. In addition, GEANT4 simulations were carried out to mimic the experiment at these energies. As a result, good agreement between the experimental and GEANT4 results was observed. The measured [Formula: see text] values were used to compute effective atomic numbers ([Formula: see text]) for the selected materials. It was found that the [Formula: see text] values were in the range typical for dosimetric materials.