The properties of silicate glass specimens for photon, neutron, and charged particles shielding: The roles of Bi2O3

Hazardous radiation protective glasses for medical and research laboratories

“…The effective atomic number and the electron density was evaluated using Equations (4) , (5) [ 4 , 5 , 34 , 35 ]. …”

“…Though concrete walls could safeguard from the radiation against gamma ray, yet they do show limitations related to close-chamber setups. To overcome such near encounter hazards with close chamber setups “Glasses” are chosen [ 1 , 2 ] due to their transparent behaviour and shielding ability [ [3] , [4] , [5] , [6] ]. Also, the radiation absorbed in the glasses or in the air can be correlated to energy absorption build-up factor (BF) [ 5 ].…”

“…To overcome such near encounter hazards with close chamber setups “Glasses” are chosen [ 1 , 2 ] due to their transparent behaviour and shielding ability [ [3] , [4] , [5] , [6] ]. Also, the radiation absorbed in the glasses or in the air can be correlated to energy absorption build-up factor (BF) [ 5 ]. The intensity of gamma-ray beam follows the Beer Lambert's law ( I = I o e -μt ) when passed through the material medium under certain conditions [ 6 ].…”

“…The conditions are (a) mono-chromatic ray (b) thin absorbing material, and (c) narrow beam geometry. If any, one conditions are not met then Beer Lamber's law fails to meet the criteria unless a correction factor, called as “build-up factor” (BF) is used [ 5 , 6 ]. Borate glasses are chosen to be superior and one of the most common glass formers and best host to accommodate higher concentration of rare-earth content with higher phonon energy than compared to other glass formers.…”

“…Addition of heavy metal oxide (HMO) such as Bi 2 O 3 content [ 14 ] in the sodium borate glasses increases the mechanical [ 15 , 16 ] and radiation shielding capability [ [15] , [16] , [17] , [18] , [19] ] when introduced in it. In our previous work [ 4 , 5 , 20 ] it was observed that addition of rare-earth ions enhances the radiation shielding property and hence in the present work it is focused to add rare-earth ions with heavy metal oxide such as Bi 2 O 3 . Addition of rare-earth ions such as gadolinium (Gd 2 O 3 ) content in the glass matrix will enhances the radiation shielding ability [ 21 ] and its optical transmittance which is important property for the glasses [ 22 , 23 ].…”