Structural, elastic, thermo-physical and gamma radiation shielding efficiency of MnO2 doped TeO2-PbO-ZnO glasses.

This paper presents the fabrication of glasses with chemical formula [(TeO 2) 0.70 – (ZnO) 0.22 – (PbO) 0.08 ] 1-x (MnO 2) x where x = 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08 and 0.1 using melt quenching technique. The main objective is to explore the structural, elastic and gamma ray shielding efficiency of the glasses. The study was conducted using density and molar volume measurements, X-ray diffraction analysis, Fourier transform infrared analysis, non-destructive ultrasonic analysis, and theoretical assessment of the glasses' gamma ray shielding efficiency using the Phy-X/PSD software. High density values in the range of 5.611–5.735 gcm−3 and the XRD analysis showed no sharp peak indicating the amorphous nature of the glasses. The FTIR spectra revealed the presence of both TeO 3 and TeO 4 structural units. The values of the elastic moduli microhardness, Debye and softening temperatures, acoustic impedance, diffusion constant, Thermal expansion coefficient and latent heat of melting were studied and discussed among others. Efficiency parameters of radiation shielding such as the coefficients of mass and linear attenuation, effective atomic number, half and tenth value layers, mean free path and effective electron density were calculated theoretically and discussed. Based on the results discussed, the studied MnO 2 doped TeO 2 -PbO-ZnO glasses appeared to be mechanically strong, and thermally stable for radiation shielding applications. Moreso, the glasses appeared to be better in terms of radiation shielding efficiency than commercial concrete materials like serpentine, barite, ferrite, and chromite. • MnO 2 doped TeO 2 – PbO – ZnO glass system were fabricated using melt-quenching technique. • FTIR, XRD, non-destructive ultrasonic analysis/technique, and density & molar volume were used in the measurements and characterization of the studied glasses. • The high-density value in the range of 5.611–5.735 gcm−3 were recorded and Elastic moduli, Softening & Debye's temperatures, thermal expansion coefficient (α p), acoustic impedance (Z), latent heat of melting (ΔH m) and diffusion constant (D i) were studied. • Phy-X/PSD software was used in calculating the radiation shielding parameters such as Linear Attenuation Coefficient (LAC), Mass Attenuation Coefficient (MAC), and others and the results are discussed. • High values of density, elastic moduli, LAC, MAC, and other parameters suggests the glasses possess great potential for radiation shielding application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]