Fabrication, structural, physical, optical characteristics and γ-ray attenuation capacity of borosilicate glasses doped with Gd2O3

Barium fluoride borosilicate glass samples reinforced with varying amounts of Gd2O3 (BSBLG0–BSBLG4) have been manufactured using the conventional melt quenching procedure in order to provide additional research on the type of borosilicate glass. Structural, physical, and linear optical characteristics as well as γ-ray attenuation capacity of barium fluoride borosilicate doped with Gd2O3 was investigated. X-ray diffraction pattern proving the amorphous nature of the glass samples due to the absence of a distinctive crystalline characteristic peak. The density (ρ) slightly increased from 2.74 g/cm3 to 2.91 g/cm3 and the molar volume (Vm) ranged from 31.27 cm3/mol to 31.49 cm3/mol with increasing Gd2O3 substitution ratio. The UV-Vis absorption spectra revealed a considerable increase in the absorbance of the glass samples in the visible and ultraviolet wavelength range and the UV absorption edge shifted to a higher wavelength as the Gd2O3 substitution ratio increased. The direct optical gap (Eg) ranged from 3.40 eV to 3.21 eV, while the indirect values dropped from 2.88 eV to 2.74 eV. The values of Urbach’s energy (Eu) increased from 0.35 eV to 0.38 eV. The dispersion and indices of refraction were significantly impacted by Gd2O3 concentration. Real (ε1) and imaginary (ε2) parts of optical dielectric constants improved as the ratio of Gd3+ ions increased. Mass attenuation coefficient (MAC), linear attenuation coefficient (LAC), and effective atomic number (Zeff) parameters were increased as Gd2O3 content increased in the glass networks. Half-value layer (HVL) and mean free path (MFP) followed the order: BSBLG0 > BSBLG1 > BSBLG2 > BSBLG3 > BSBLG4. Results concluded that the suggested glasses cab be applied in opt-electronic devices and radiation shielding applications. © The Author(s) 2024.