Structural and nuclear shielding qualities of B2O3–PbO–Li2O glass system with different Ag2O substitution ratios

Highlights: • A novel B₂O₃–PbO–Li₂O–Ag₂O glass system has been fabricated. • Nuclear shielding characterization of fabricated glasses was studied. • The theoretical WinXCOM data were compared with simulated MCNPX data. • Amorphous structure of the glasses were verified by XRD measurements. • BPLA10 glass sample with highest Ag2O contribution has excellent nuclear radiation shielding ability. Structural and gamma-ray/neutron radiation protection characteristics of (50-x)B₂O₃ +40PbO+10Li₂O + xAg₂O (x = 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10 wt fraction (wt) %) glass system encoded BPLA glasses have been extensively surveyed. The structure of the prepared glasses has been investigated over X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) patterns. With the addition of Ag₂O, the glasses' amorphous structures have not deteriorated, and the density and molar volumes of BPLA glasses inversely varied. Mass attenuation coefficients (MAC) for BPLA glasses have been generated enjoying Monte Carlo N-Particle- Extended (MCNPX) simulation code for the broad gamma-ray energy range of 0.015–15 MeV. It has been observed that the MAC values of the BPLA10 glass are higher than the others at all energy levels. Furthermore, while Ag₂O concentration in the glass has increased, Half Value Layer (HVLs) Energy Absorption and Exposure Buildup Factors (EABFs, and EBFs) have dropped off for photon energies which are important for shielding applications. It has been noticed from these results that owning higher equivalent atomic number (Zeq) values, BPLA10 can be employed effectively for gamma-ray attenuation. Lastly, the results found for fast neutron removal cross-sections (∑_R) have shown that the Ag₂O additive grew the density and ∑_R values of the glasses. As with photon shielding, it is observed that BPLA10 glass can be more preferable in terms of neutron retention according to other glasses. One can conclude that Ag₂O enhances the shielding capacity of the glass system studied and BPLA10 glass can be considered as a good material for gamma-rays/fast neutrons shielding.