Structural, thermal, and mechanical investigation of telluro-borate-Bismuth glass for radiation shielding

The radiation shielding properties of telluro-borate glasses have a great importance in nuclear industry. This work focused on the study of the glasses of the (70-x)B₂O₃–5TeO₂–20SrO–5ZnO-xBi₂O₃ (with 0 ≤ x ≤ 15% mol%) system, which have been synthesized by the melt-quenching route. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis showed no agglomeration on glassy surfaces, which confirmed the amorphous state. The thermal differential analysis (DTA) showed that the glass transition temperature (T_g) decreased from 589.90 °C to 529.51 °C with replacing B₂O₃ mol% by Bi₂O₃ mol%. The mechanical properties of these glasses have been evaluated by investigation of the parameters, such as the bulk modulus (K), the Young's modulus (E), the shear modulus (S), the longitudinal modulus (L), and the Poisson coefficient, which are changed by Bi₂O₃ doping. The radiation shielding properties of these prepared glasses have been evaluated, and we reported the effective atomic number (Z_eff) at 0.511 MeV. The results showed that the glass with x = 15% has the highest Z_eff. We found that the Z_eff is almost doubled when the concentration of Bi₂O₃ is increased from 0 mol% to 15 mol%. The findings provide a deeper understanding of the thermal, mechanical, and shielding properties of glass and have potential applications in areas such as construction and radiation protection.