Influence of exchanging CeO2 with Cu2O3 on structural matrix, shielding, and linear/nonlinear optical parameters of the cerium-sodium borate glass

This paper discusses how substituting a lanthanide oxide with a transition metal oxide impacts the structural matrix, shielding parameters, and the optical properties of the sodium borate glass. Where a set of glass samples have been prepared using the fast quenching method, where three types of glasses were obtained; i) copper-free/cerium-rich sodium borate glass (one sample), ii) cerium-free/copper-rich sodium borate glass (one sample), and iii) Cerium copper sodium borate glass (three samples). XRD patterns indicated the amorphous nature for the as-prepared samples regardless of the changing amounts of CeO2 and Cu2O3. FTIR-spectral analysis showed that ratio BO3:BO4 reached its lower limit in the sample containing equal CeO2 and Cu2O3 concentrations. At the same time, it has got its upper limit in the cerium-free/copper-rich sample. Optical calculations showed that the same contains equal concentrations of CeO2 and Cu2O3 have the maximum optical bandgaps and the minimum Urbach's energy among the studied samples. On the other hand, gamma-ray spectroscopic measurements associated with XCOM calculations indicated that the highest μm value was obtained for the Copper-free/cerium-rich samples. Based on the experimental μm, other important parameters, such as the half-value layer HVL, were evaluated to investigate the present glass system. The neutron shielding behavior of the studied samples was also evaluated by calculating the fast neutron removal cross-section ΣR, and the results revealed the possibility of using the studied glass samples containing 3% of the CeO2 content in radiation protection applications.