High-energy radiation shielding characteristics of SeTeSnZn chalcogenide glasses (STSZ ChGs)

The focus of the current research is to see the effectiveness of some quaternary ChGs as shielding materials for incoming photon energy in the range of 0.015-15.0 MeV. The ChGs addressed in this investigation belong to a quaternary glass system of Se78-xTe20Sn2Znx (x = 0, 2, 4, 6). The online Phy-X/PSD program has been used to deduce several safety factors. The MAC values of the studied glass have the following sequential order: MAC(Zn-0) > MAC(Zn-2) > MAC(Zn-4) > MAC(Zn-6). The most intriguing results are that they have values that are better for shielding than some commercial and conventional glasses (e.g., at E = 1.0 MeV, LAC(RS-520) < LAC(RS-253-G18) < LAC(Zn-0) < LAC(Zn-2) < LAC(Zn-4) < LAC(Zn-6) < LAC(Zn-4) < LAC(Zn-6)). Further, we have determined various shielding parameters (e.g., 0.02 < Half-Value Layer < 4.083 cm(-1), 0.03 < mean free path <6.90) as well as the mechanical properties (e.g., 40.71 < bulk modulus < 50.55 GPa, 12.16 < shear modulus <15.91 GPa, 49.83 < longitudinal modulus <62.47 GPa, 0.358 < Poisson's ratio < 0.368, and 0.032 < micro-hardness <0.0349 GPa). It is also discussed how replacing Se atoms with zinc affects the shielding properties of the SeTeSn glass.