Enhanced radiation shielding performance of novel glass compositions: A comprehensive analysis of gamma and neutron attenuation properties

This work investigates the ionizing radiation shielding capabilities of six diverse glass compositions: 10BiO390GeO2, 10BaO-90GeO2, 20WO3-80TeO2, 20ZnO-80TeO2, 30BaO-70B2O3, and 40Bi2O3-60B2O3. These samples were selected to examine the role of different high-Z oxide additives and glass formers in enhancing radiation attenuation. The mass-attenuation coefficient (MAC) and linear-attenuation coefficient (mu) were calculated using Phy-X/PSD simulation software across photon-energies ranging between 0.015 MeV and 15 MeV. Among the materials studied, the B2 sample (40Bi2O3-60B2O3) demonstrated the strongest attenuation at low energies, with an MAC of approximately 100 cm2/g and (mu) reaching 620 cm- 1 at 0.01 MeV. As energy raised, attenuation declined because of the dominance of Compton scattering (CS) and pair production (PP), with MAC values converging around 0.1-0.2 cm2/g at 1 MeV. The half value layer (HVL) of B2 remained the lowest among all samples, measuring just 0.001 cm at 0.015 MeV, indicating superior shielding effectiveness. Neutron shielding was assessed through the fast neutron removal cross-section (FNRCS), where B2 again outperformed conventional shielding materials, reaching 0.13 cm-1 compared to 0.1 cm- 1 for water and 0.06 cm- 1 for concrete. These results highlight the potential of high-density, high-Z glass compositions, particularly 40Bi2O3-60B2O3, for advanced radiation-shielding applications such as nuclear diagnostics, radiation protection, and aerospace. Future work may explore structural optimization and dopant tuning to further enhance performance.