Synthesis and optimization of B2O3-based glass: Influence of MgO on hardness, structure properties, and radiation shielding performance

This study investigates the structural, mechanical, and gamma shielding features of glass samples with the composition 9Na2O-5BaO-Fe2O3-25Bi2O3-40B2O3 -(20-x)SiO2-xMgO (where x = 0 (G), 4 (GMgO4), 8 (GMgO8) and 12 (GMgO12) mol%). The glasses were prepared using the melt-and-quench method with the aim of characterizing them for radiation shielding and other relevant applications. The influence of MgO on the structure, density, hardness, and brittleness of the glass system was also investigated. The glassy nature of the prepared glasses was confirmed with the aid of a X-ray diffractometer. The mass attenuation coefficients (MACs) of the investigated glass samples were computed from data from FLUKA Monte Carlo simulations and XCOM datasets. The densities of the glasses varied from 2.98 gcm-3 (for G) to 3.18 gcm-3 for (GMgO12). The values of the hardness for the G, GMgO4, GMgO8, and GMgO12 samples are 4.28, 5.13, 5.51, and 5.79 GPa, respectively. The corresponding values of the brittleness are 2.81, 3.46, 3.76, and 4.10 (µ.m)-0.5. In addition, the fracture toughness declined from 1.66 MPa.m-0.5 for G to 1.39 MPa.m-0.5 for GMgO12. The values of the MAC for G, GMgO4, GMgO8, and GMgO12 vary from 0.0374 to 74.4652 cm2/g, 0.0375 to 74.9213 cm2/g, 0.0375 to 75.2458 cm2/g, 0.0376 to 75.5835 cm2/g, respectively. Also, the half-value layers ranging from 0.0031–6.2169 cm, 0.0031–6.1428 cm, 0.0030–5.9968 cm, and 0.0030–5.8017 cm were obtained for G, GMgO4, GMgO8, and GMgO12, respectively. The photon shielding abilities of the glasses trended in the following order: G < GMgO4 < GMgO8 < GMgO12. The GMgO12 glass showed a better gamma photon absorption capacity in contrast to conventional and nontraditional shielding materials. The optical transparency of the investigated glasses makes them more versatile in radiation shielding applications.