Synthesis, FTIR, and mechanical as well as radiation shielding characteristics in Nd2O3-doped bismuth lithium borate glasses

A melt quenching method was applied to fabricate a series of bismuth lithium borate glasses with a chemical composition of 65(B2O5) + 20(Bi2O3) + (15 − x)(Li2O) + x(Nd2O3), where x = 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 mol%. The structural changes in the fabricate glasses were studied via the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The FT-IR spectra of the manufactured glasses indicated the transformation of the structural unit BO4. The mechanical properties of the produced glasses were evaluated via the ultrasonic measurement (longitudinal and shear velocities) and the Makishima–Mackenzie modulus calculations. Furthermore, the role of Nd2O3 in improving mechanical properties was studied theoretically and experimentally and results showed that ultrasonic velocities and elastic moduli decreased with increasing the Nd2O3 content. The Young's modulus decreased from 68.47 to 50.61 GPa as the Nd2O3 content increased from 0 to 4 mol%, respectively. The gamma ray shielding properties of the studied glass samples were evaluated using the Monte Carlo simulations between 0.223 and 2.506 MeV. The simulated data showed that the fabricated glass without Nd2O3 has the highest linear attenuation coefficient, which varied between 0.210 and 0.212 cm−1 for photons with energies ranging from 0.2234 to 2.506 MeV.