Experimental evaluation of titanium dioxide's influence on the CaO-BaO-PbO-B₂O₃ glass system: A detailed analysis of the optical, structural, and radiation shielding properties

Via melt quenching, this study prepared a novel lead glass samples' group comprising CaO-BaO-PbO-B₂O₃, modified by varying concentrations of TiO₂. The study explored the following properties—structural, optical, and experimental shielding—to determine the glass's validity for use in radiation shielding applications. X-ray diffraction confirmed the amorphous behavior for all the samples. The glasses' band gap was in the 3.383–3.489 eV range, and Urbach energy increased with increasing TiO₂ due to new defect formation in the matrix of the glass with TiO₂ addition. Additionally, the μ values of the linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) were measured at specific energies of 0.184, 0.28, 0.662, 0.71, and 0.81 MeV and then compared to theoretical data from MCNP and XCOM. The experimental and calculated μ values' relative difference was in the 0.8–9.9 % range. For instance, at 0.184 MeV, the experimental LAC values are 0.439, 0.407, 0.406, and 0.406 cm⁻¹ for 10CaO-20BaO-10PbO-(60-x)B₂O₃-xTiO₂ (x = 0, 5, 10, and 15 mol%, respectively). The results indicated that current glasses were valid for radiation shielding purposes.