Investigation of the structural, mechanical, radiation and neutron shielding properties of the TeO2-B2O3-Li2O-MoO3-CuO glass system

In this study, the structural, mechanical, radiation and neutron shielding properties of (78-x)(0.4TeO2-0.6B2O3)− 20Li2O-xMoO3-2CuO glass system, were investigated. A variety of characterisation methods, including optical absorption spectroscopy, FTIR, EPR, and X-ray diffraction, were used to examine the structural characteristics. Molecular orbital coefficients were calculated from EPR and optical absorption measurements. EPR lines of both Cu2+ and Mo5+ ions were observed in the EPR spectra. The mechanical properties were assessed through experimental measurements, while the elastic properties were evaluated using the semi-empirical approaches of the Makishima and Mackenzie model, along with the bond compression model. The inclusion of 4% MoO3 led to noteworthy enhancements in both hardness and fracture toughness. Hardness increased from 4.364 to 4.664 GPa, and fracture toughness improved from 0.980 to 1.226 MPa.m1/2. The mass attenuation coefficients (MAC), mean free paths (MFP), half-value layers (HVL), and effective atomic numbers (Zeff) were measured in the energy range of 59.54–661.62 keV. The measurement of equivalent dose rates resulting from the absorption of fast neutrons was conducted utilizing a 241Am-Be fast neutron source with an activity of 10 mCi. The exposure buildup factor (EBF) and the fast neutron removal cross section (ΣR) were therotically calculated. The potential suitability of glasses for nuclear security applications was assessed by evaluating their proton and alpha shielding properties. The study found that glasses containing higher amounts of TeO2 and MoO3, within the TeO2-B2O3-Li2O-MoO3-CuO composition, demonstrated enhanced capabilities for shielding against radiation and neutrons.