Influence of WO3 incorporation on synthesis, optical, elastic and radiation shielding properties of borosilicate glass system

Glass samples of structural formula (55B2O3–15SiO2–30Na2O: xWO3; with x = 0.0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 weight percent) were prepared by melting and rapid quench route. Quantities of H3BO4, SiO2, Na2CO3 and WO3 were calculated, well milled and then placed in a muffle oven at a temperature of 1050 °C for 30 min. The stainless steel mold heated at 200 °C and then the melt poured between the plates to get transparent glass disks. The X-ray diffraction technique applied to glass samples with the Rigaku XRD-6000 diffractometer confirmed the amorphous structure of these glass samples. Both indirect and direct Eg show a gradual decrease trend as the concentrations of WO3 content. Makishima–Mackenzie's theory was applied to evaluate the elastic properties of the present glass system, and then, the obtained results were compared with different theoretical models. Additionally, the radiation shielding efficiency of the prepared borosilicate glass system was evaluated and interpreted based on the electromagnetic models via Geant4 simulations. The results obtained by Geant4 were compared with the predictions of theoretical values calculated by PSD software in terms of mass attenuation coefficients (MACs). The results reveal that our prepared borosilicate glass system has potential use in radiation shielding applications, wherein the balance between elastic and shielding properties can be controlled by changing the concentration of WO3 according to the desired application.