Abstract
Glass-ceramics of composition (39.5-x) PbO-20 B2O3-20 TeO2-20 MgO-0.5 Dy2O3-x Tb2O3 (where x=0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5 mol%) have been prepared by controlled heat treatment. XRD confirms the crystalline phases present in the network. The structural and vibrational bonds present in the network structure were estimated using the FTIR technique. The band-gap values for the direct and indirect decrease from 3.209 to 3.025 eV and 3.006 to 2.637 eV as terbium concentration increases. The gamma-ray shielding features for the fabricated samples were examined with the help of the MCNP5 code. The relative difference between the linear attenuation coefficients (LAC) obtained by MCNP5, and validated by XCOM, is less than 6%. The addition of Tb2O3 affects the LAC values, especially at the lower energies (0.347 and 0.662 MeV), where a notable decrease in the LAC was recorded as more Tb2O3 was added to the glasses. For the TNNS0-TNNS2.5 glasses, and with the simulated LAC's help, we reported the half-value layer (HVL). For all six of the prepared TNNS0.0-TNNS2.5 glasses, HVL positively correlated with energy. For TNNS0.5, its HVL increased from 0.3770 cm at 0.284 MeV, to 0.9929 cm at 0.511 MeV, 1.6241 cm at 0.826 MeV, and 2.367 cm at 1.332 MeV. From the HVL results, we found that when using these glasses to absorb low energy radiation, a smaller thickness is required to properly absorb most of the photons, while a much greater thickness is required in high energy applications. The ratio between the HVL of TNNS0.0 and TNNS0.5 glasses was calculated. The HVL ratio between TNNS0.0 and TNNS2.5 was also calculated to understand the glass composition's effect on the HVL values. In both cases, the ratios at all energies were greater than one, which means that TNNS0.0 has the greatest HVL at all energies. These results prove that TNNS0 has the greatest potential in radiation-shielding applications, as a lower HVL signifies a better shield, while TNN2.5 has the least potential. The transmission factor (TF) of the investigated glasses at four different thicknesses and four energies was examined. The results revealed that its TF decreases as the thickness of the glass increases for anyone glass, which proves that increasing the thickness of the glasses improves their shielding ability.