The Lanthanum-Doped Phosphate Glass System: Optical, Mechanical, and Gamma-Ray Shielding Properties

Abstract

We have successfully used a quick melt-quench procedure and casting approach to make an array novel glasses loaded with lanthanum oxide employing phosphate, lithium, bismuth, and zinc. As lanthanum concentration grew from 0 to 4 mol%, the densities of the samples under investigation increased from 2.94613 to 3.2182 g/cm³. Phy-x/PSD software was used to determine some critical gamma radiation attenuation parameters across a broad energy range (0.015–15 MeV), specifically effective electron density, equivalent atomic number, and build-up factor coefficients for the glasses under investigation. The La-4 glass sample containing 4 mol% of lanthanum proved to be more successful in the penetration of charged particle radiation, based on the results of this investigation. Following the band edge, all samples showed excellent transmission range and good transparency in the visible and near-infrared wavelength spanning 380 to 900 nm. The refractive index (n), the extinction or attenuation coefficient, the dielectric constant (\(\varepsilon_{1}\), ε₂), VELF, and optical reflectance were enhanced with increasing the quantity of La³⁺ ions in the glass structure. The produced samples’ Young’s modulus increased from 45.529 to 49.110 GPa, their bulk modulus increased from 20.622 to 23.915 GPa, and their shear modulus increased from 20.109 to 21.210 GPa when La₂O₃ was substituted for P₂O₅ from 0 to 4 mol%. Also, micro-hardness dropped from 4.933 to 4.839 GPa, and Poisson’s ratio increased from 0.132 to 0.158.