Structural, mechanical, optical, and radiation shielding properties for borotellurite glasses

In this work, six glass samples previously fabricated were used to prepare three glass systems by the melt-quench technique. X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared studied the structure of refabricated glasses. At the same time, the Makishima-Mackenzie model was used to assess the elastic moduli for refabricated glasses. The optical properties of refabricated glasses were calculated based on UV-Vis absorption. The radiation shielding features were evaluated based on the Phy-X and SRIM programs. The X-ray diffraction results exhibited the amorphous behavior for all refabricated glasses, while the Fourier transform infrared revealed several bands related to TeO2 and B2O3. The band gap values for TBBBSr, TBBBZn, and TBBBCd glasses are 3.439, 3.236, and 3.195 eV, respectively. The Young modulus values are 59.368, 57.843, and 56.358 GPa for TBBBSr, TBBBZn, and TBBBCd glasses, which indicate superior the TBBBSr glass sample on other glasses in mechanical properties. The mechanical, optical, and Fourier transform infrared results showed high compatibility. In contrast, the TBBBCd glass recorded the highest density and gamma-ray shielding properties; for example, the linear attenuation coefficient values at 15 MeV are 0.222 cm 1 for TBBBCd, 0.214 cm 1 for TBBBZn, and 0.188 cm 1 for TBBBSr. While, the TBBBZn glass showed the highest neutron shielding feature; for example, the fast neutron removal cross section is 0.088, 0.091, and 0.092 cm 1 for TBBBSr, TBBBZn, and TBBBCd, respectively. On the other hand, the TBBBSr displayed the highest shielding features for charged particles. In conclusion, the TBBBSr glass can be nominated for radiation shielding applications based on its superior mechanical properties and ability to stop charged particles.