X-ray attenuation performance of a newly synthesized tellurium based lead-free radiation shielding glass system
Sk Rezaul Karim, Sheeza Khan, Ghizal F. Ansari, Deepti Mishra, Surender Kumar, Mohammad Ashiq
Abstract
The lead-free quaternary glass systems containing B 2 O 3 –CaO–ZnO–TeO 2 were synthesized using the traditional melt-quenching method. XRD analysis confirmed that the TeZnCaB glass system exhibited an amorphous behaviour. The density of the glass samples was increased from 3.48 g/cc to 4.08 g/cc by increasing the TeO 2 concentration from 20 to 45 mol%. From UV–visible spectroscopy, it was observed that direct and indirect energy band gaps decreased with increasing the TeO 2 concentration whereas the refractive index increased. TEM analysis revealed the amorphous behaviour along with nanocrystals present in the glass sample. X-ray attenuation measurements were performed to assess the radiation shielding properties of the lead-free glass system and observed that the radiation shielding capacity was increased with the TeO 2 concentration. The best lead equivalent thickness was 2.02 mm for the sample with 45% TeO 2 and these glasses could be promising materials for medical diagnostic applications.