Optical properties and radiation shielding performance of tellurite glassy composites: Role of rare earth oxides

In this research, the synthesis, optical parameters, and radiation absorption quantities of 50TeO2-15Na2O-(20x)PbO-15ZnO-xEu2O3 glasses were reported. The glasses were prepared by the well-known melting and quenching method using high purity chemicals. The glasses were coded as TPEu-0, TPEu-1, TPEu-2, and TPEu-3 for glasses containing 0, 1, 2, and 3 mol% of Eu2O3, respectively. The density of the glasses was determined by the Archimedes method. The optical parameters of the glasses, such as the refractive index n, molar refractivity Rm, molar polarizability & alpha;m, reflection loss RL, optical transmission T, metallization criterion M, static dielectric constant & epsilon;static, and optical dielectric constant & epsilon;optical were estimated by theoretical methods. The stopping powers and range of electrons, protons, & alpha;-particles, and carbon ions in the TPEu-X glasses for particle kinetic energies between 15 keV and 15 MeV were computed using the ESTAR, PSTAR, ASTAR, and STRIM software. In addition, the fast neutron (FN) removal cross section (FNRCS), thermal neutron (TN), and total cross-section (& sigma;tot) for the prepared glasses were evaluated theoretically using established models. The estimated optical parameters showed strong relationship with the chemical content of the glasses. Glass density and molar volume increased as Eu2O3 content increased. The Rm, & alpha;m, RL, & epsilon;static, and & epsilon;optical vary from 16.24 to 17.20 cm3/mol, 6.44 x 10-24 cm3-17.20 x 10-24 cm3, 0.17-0.19, 5.71-6.55, and 4.71-5.55 respectively, with TPEu-0 and TPEu-1 having the maximum and minimum values, respectively. Generally, the increase in Eu2O3 concentration increased the charged radiation shielding ability of the glasses. The increment in the Eu2O3 content of the glasses brought about an improvement in the thermal and fast neutron absorption probabilities of the glasses.