Effect of La₂O₃ on the optical, thermal, structural and radiation shielding properties of TeO₂–ZnO–BaO glasses

Abstract

Influence of lanthanum oxide (La2O3) on various properties of melt quenched zinc barium tellurite glasses (TeO2–BaO–ZnO) have been investigated. Lanthanum was limited to 10 mol% beyond which the glass formation ability was affected leading to crystallization in the proposed tie-line. Glass transition temperature improved with lanthanum oxide incorporation, while the density and energy band gap values showed a minimum at 5 mol%. The observed variation with lanthanum oxide doping was clearly elucidated from Raman spectral data, which indicated their influence in modifying the host ternary glass network. Radiation shielding parameter calculations showed a larger mass and linear attenuation coefficients for glasses doped with 10 mol% lanthanum oxide, indicating the influence of heavier oxides in improving the shielding properties and consequently acting as replacement candidate for toxic lead-based compounds.