Impact of lead oxide on the structure, optical, and radiation shielding properties of potassium borate glass doped with samarium ions

In this work, the radiation shielding ability and the high transparency of glasses are combined. Glass systems with the formula xPbO-(79-x)B2O3 + 19.2 K2O+ 1.8Sm2O3 with x = 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 mol% were prepared using the melt-quenching method. Also, the optical transmittance was examined in wavelengths between 200 nm and 800 nm. An increase in average density was observed with further PbO additions. In detail, the density values increased from 2.361 to 3.027 g/cm3 with further PbO additions. The optical transmittance of these glasses indicates that all glass samples have good transparency. In detail, the PbO-free glass sample exhibits the maximum transmittance, around 73 %, in the wavelength range of 500-600 nm. While the transmittance of the glass sample containing 20 mol% of PbO is 60-62 % in the 500-600 nm wavelength range. The optical band gap (Eg) values of these glasses were obtained using the absorption spectrum fitting (ASF) method. The Eg values showed decreasing behavior with PbO additions. Also, the radiation shielding parameters are much higher than some common and standard glasses and materials used to block radiation. Based on these findings, the present glasses are good candidates for use as shielding materials in the radiation shielding field.