Design and characterization of borosilicate glass modified with TiO2 for enhanced optical and radiation shielding applications
M. Alhakami, A. S. Abouhaswa, N. Althubiti, T.A. Taha
Abstract
This work investigates the potential of borosilicate glass doped with titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) for radiation shielding applications. The study explored the impact of varying TiO 2 concentrations on the glass structure, optical properties , and radiation shielding effectiveness. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy confirmed the amorphous nature of the glasses. The addition of TiO 2 affected the glass network structure, as evidenced by changes in the Raman spectra and density measurements. UV–Vis spectroscopy revealed a red shift in the absorption edge (416–481 nm) and a decrease in the indirect optical band gap (2.91–2.70 eV) with increasing TiO 2 content. The refractive index also increased from 2.54 to 3.54 with TiO 2 concentration. The mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) and linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) increased significantly with TiO 2 addition, indicating enhanced radiation attenuation capability. The inclusion of TiO 2 reduced the half-value layer (HVL), tenth-value layer (TVL), and mean free path (MFP), while increasing the effective atomic number (Z eff ). The effective electron density (N eff ) and effective conductivity (C eff ) showed a slight increase with TiO 2 content. Energy build-up factors (EBF and EABF) indicated a higher rate of radiation intensity increase and energy absorption within the glass due to the presence of TiO 2 . Finally, the incorporation of TiO 2 into borosilicate glass offered a promising approach to developing improved optical and radiation shielding glasses.