Study on interaction of Bi₂O₃, PbO and BaO in silicate glass system at 662 keV for development of gamma-rays shielding materials

The mass attenuation coefficients and partial interaction of xR_mO_n:(100-x)SiO₂ glass system (where R_mO_n are Bi₂O₃, PbO and BaO, with 30≤x≤70 % by weight) have been investigated at 662 keV on the basis of experiments and calculation. The theoretical values of total and partial interaction were obtained by the WinXCom software. The glass system was prepared by the melt-quenching method following the theoretically investigated compositions and its radiation shielding properties were measured. The experimental results showed good agreement with the theoretical ones. Total mass attenuation coefficients of glasses increased with the increases of Bi₂O₃ and PbO component, because of the increase of photoelectric absorption. On the contrary, there was no significant change in mass attenuation coefficient when the fraction of BaO increased. These results indicated that photons were more attenuated in Bi₂O₃ and PbO glasses than the BaO glass. The half value layer (HVL) and effective atomic number results indicate that Bi can replace Pb at this energy as a gamma-ray shielding material. For BaO, HVL was better than the ordinary concrete and commercial windows. This indicates that BaO glasses can be used to shield gamma-ray in replace of both of them in this energy. The Bi₂O₃ and BaO glass will open new possibility for lead-free radiation protecting glasses with non-toxicity to our environment. (author)