CeO2 additive to bismo-borate glasses: synthesis, structure, physical characteristics, and radiation protection competence

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics Vol. 35; no. 12; p. 862
• Main Authors: Alharshan, Gharam A., El-Seidy, Ahmed M. A., Elamy, Mamdouh I., Nabil, Islam M., El-Refaey, Adel M., Elsad, R. A., Shams, M. S., Abdelghany, A. M., Rammah, Y. S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.04.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Absorptivity; Cerium oxides; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Heavy metal oxides; Heavy metals; Materials Science; Molar volume; Nuclear safety; Optical and Electronic Materials; Oxygen; Packing density; Physical properties; Radiation; Radiation protection
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-024-12610-8

Adding CeO 2 to bismo-borate heavy metal oxide glasses to use in the field of nuclear safety and radiation protection is investigated. To this end, glass samples with the composition: 60B 2 O 3  + 20Na 2 O + 15ZnO + 5Bi 2 O 3  +  X CeO 2 with X  = 0.0 (Ce-0.0), 0.25 (Ce-0.25), 0.5 (Ce-0.5), 0.75 (Ce-0.75), and 0.9 (Ce-0.9) mol% glasses were prepared using the melt quenching route. The structure, physical parameters, and γ -ray protection features in the photon energy range (0.015 ≤  γE  ≤ 15 MeV) of the prepared Ce- X glasses have been evaluated. The non-crystalline state of the Ce- X glasses was confirmed by XRD measurements. The density ( ρ ) of the Ce- X glasses varied from 3.158 to 3.289 g cm −3 as CeO 2 content varied from 0.0 to 0.9 mol%. Both molar volume ( V m ) and oxygen molar volume ( V O ) decreased slightly from 28.40 to 27.49 cm 3  mol −1 and from 12.35 to 11.97 cm 3  mol −1 . The oxygen packing density (OPD) gradually increased from 81.00 to 83.57 g atm l −1 . The linear absorption coefficient ( μ ) possessed the order: Ce-0.0 < Ce-0.25 < Ce-0.5 < Ce-0.75 < Ce-0.9. The sample coded as Ce-0.9 (highest content of CeO 2 ) possessed the minimum values of half-(HVL), tenth-(TVL) value layer, and mean free path (MFP). The observed results validated the superiority of the suggested Ce- X glasses as γ -ray shields.