Significant influence of La2O3 content on radiation shielding characteristics properties of bismuth sodium borosilicate glasses

Melt-quenching was used to create high density glasses with a chemical composition of (15-x) Na2O–45B2O3–20Bi2O3–20SiO2–xLa2O3, where, x = (0 ≤ x ≥ 15) mol%. Through the use of (XRD) analysis, the amorphous status of these glasses was ascertained. We examined on the synthetic glasses physical attributes as well as their ability to shield against gamma radiation. The density increased from 4.913 g/cm3 for BBSNLa0 glass to 6.497 g/cm3 for BBSNLa15 glass. The study employed the Phy-X/PSD code to explore the radiation shielding properties of these glasses. As the mol% of La2O3 increases, the MFP decreases. This indicates that glass samples with a higher concentration of La2O3 have a greater ability to attenuate or absorb photons, resulting in a shorter average distance traveled before interaction. The BBSNLa-15 glass sample is the best choice for applications in radiation protection.