Investigation of the effect of barium content on the structural and gamma-ray shielding properties of bismuth borate glasses

Glasses doped with heavy metal oxides have been proposed to shield the hazardous gamma rays originating from nuclear reactors as alternative to the conventional concretes. In this work, transparent glasses with composition 65Bi₂O₃-xBaO-(35-x) B₂O₃ (with x =0, 4, 8 wt %) have been prepared by using melt quenching technique in the laboratory. XRD and FTIR studies have been undertaken to explore the structural properties. The amorphous nature of the prepared samples is confirmed by XRD studies. Structural changes in the system have been explored by FTIR studies. The FTIR results reveal the conversion of (BO₃) triangular units to (BO₄) tetrahedral units with the addition of barium oxide along with the creation of non-bridging oxygen in the prepared glass system. Gamma-ray shielding properties have been explored with the help of WinXCom software developed by National Institute Standards and Technology at photon energy 662 keV. Gamma ray shielding properties in terms of mass attenuation coefficient, half value layer, tenth value layer and mean free path have been found to be superior as compared to the ordinary as well as barite concrete. Therefore, it is speculated that our prepared glass samples can serve as better gamma ray shielding materials. (author)