Enhancement of Gamma-ray Shielding Properties in Cobalt-Doped Heavy Metal Borate Glasses: The Role of Lanthanum Oxide Reinforcement
Ghada ALMisned, Wiam Elshami, Shams A.M. Issa, G. Süsoy, Hesham M.H. Zakaly, Merfat Algethami, Y. S. Rammah, Antoaneta Ene, S. A. Al‐Ghamdi, Awad A. Ibraheem, H.O. Tekın
Abstract
The direct influence of La3+ ions on the gamma-ray shielding properties of cobalt-doped heavy metal borate glasses with the chemical formula 0.3CoO-(80-x)B2O3-19.7PbO-xLa2O3: x = 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 mol% was examined herein. Several significant radiation shielding parameters were evaluated. The glass density was increased from 3.11 to 3.36 g/cm3 with increasing La3+ ion content from 0 to 2 mol%. The S5 glass sample, which contained the highest concentration of La3+ ions (2 mol%), had the maximum linear (μ) and mass (μm) attenuation coefficients for all photon energies entering, while the S1 glass sample free of La3+ ions possessed the minimum values of μ and μm. Both the half value layer (T1/2) and tenth value layer (TVL) of all investigated glasses showed a similar trend of (T1/2, TVL)S1 > (T1/2, TVL)S2 > (T1/2, TVL)S3 > (T1/2, TVL)S4 > (T1/2, TVL)S5. Our results revealed that the S5 sample had the highest effective atomic number (Zeff) values over the whole range of gamma-ray energy. S5 had the lowest exposure (EBF) and energy absorption (EABF) build-up factor values across the whole photon energy and penetration depth range. Our findings give a strong indication of the S5 sample’s superior gamma-ray shielding characteristics due to the highest contribution of lanthanum oxide.