Abstract
In this investigation, many aspects of the structural, optical, and radiation-shielding effectiveness of glasses with the formula xLa(2)O(3)-(20 - x) TiO2-23SiO(2)-57B(2)O(3) were assessed. The XRD patterns of the as-quenched sample demonstrated their glassy nature. With the addition of La2O3 content, the density, refractive index, ion concentration, and field strength increased significantly. Due to the interchanging dominance of bridging oxygen (BO) in the glass network, optical spectroscopy showed that the indirect optical band gap (E-opt) decreased from 3.79 eV to 3.41 eV as the La2O3 content increased, whereas the Urbach energy (E-u) increased from 0.281 eV to 0.311 eV. The structural modifications to the glass network were explored in relation to this change. The conversion of BO3 into BO4 tetrahedral units in the glasses was detected by FTIR spectra. Phy-X/PSD software was used to estimate the radiation-shielding characteristics of the glass sample for the 15 keV-15 MeV photon energy range. In comparison to other glasses, the current glass technology demonstrated superior gamma radiation- and neutron-shielding performance.
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