Enhancing gamma-ray shielding with Bi2O3-Enriched BTBi glasses: Optimal balance of attenuation and glass transparency.

A host glass of barium-magnesium-boro-tellurite (BTBi0) was produced and reinforced with 10, 20, 30, and 40 mol% of Bi 2 O 3 (BTBi1, BTBi2, BTBi3, and BTBi4) to enhance its gamma rays shielding efficiency. The structural, optical, and attenuation properties of the produced BTBi glass series were studied. Penetration of Bi 2 O 3 up to 30 mol% into the proposed host network enriches it with non-bridging oxygens (NBO) units, while the glass containing 40 mol% was enriched with bridging oxygens (BOs) units, which arose as a result of the role of the Bi3+ ion in disrupting the borate network, leading to the BO 4 ⇋ BO 3 conversion. The conversion role of Bi 2 O 3 was clearly evident in the behavior of the molar volume, oxygen packing density, and packing density. The results of Raman shift showed the formation of the structural units of the boro-tellurite network and BiO 6 units within the glass network. The compositional changes brought about by Bi 2 O 3 agreed perfectly with the results of the optical properties of the studied glass. The red shift in optical absorption spectra, the reduction in the optical band gap, and the augmentation of Urbach energy up to 30 mol% of Bi 2 O 3 occurred mainly as a result of the formation of NBOs units. In contrast, at 40 mol% of Bi 2 O 3 , the continuation of the red shift, the decrease in the optical band gap, and the increase in the Urbach energy, despite the increase in BOs compared to the NBOs, are attributed to the high polarizability of Bi3+ and the formation of BiO 6 units. The transparency of the glass increased to about 85 % with increasing Bi 2 O 3 up to 30 mol%, but decreased to 70 % at 40 mol%. The ability of the considered glasses to attenuate gamma rays was examined using Phy-X/PSD software. The results showed that the attenuation ability improved significantly with increasing Bi 2 O 3 concentrations, where the required thickness to attenuate gamma rays was reduced by 48.505–77.134 % at 40 mol% of Bi 2 O 3. Based on the high attenuation ability and transparency of the studied BTBi glasses, they can be used as a protective shield against gamma rays in nuclear applications that require visual monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]