Enhancing the mechanical, optical, and γ-ray attenuation properties of CdO-B2O3-P2O5 (CBP) glasses: Effect of Nd3+ ions

The Cd-boro phosphate glasses doped with Nd₂O₃ were prepared via melt quenched process. The impact of Nd³⁺ ions on the structural, mechanical, optical properties and γ-ray shielding abilities of the boro-phosphate glasses was studied. XRD patterns have demonstrated that the samples are amorphous. The incorporation of Nd₂O₃ in the glasses led to increase the glass densities (from 3.144 to 3.233 g/cm³) as result of high molar mass, and also increased molar volume of doped glasses from 39.26 to 39.41 cc/mol due to the large ionic size of Nd₂O₃. The obtained data showed that Nd₂O₃ is a major contributor to increasing the elastic modulus and derived hardness values ​​of the studied glass when replacing it with boric. In the range of 270–1100 nm of UV-Vis, the optical absorption spectra showed nine absorption bands attributed to the 4f³-4f³ transitions inside Nd³⁺ ions in the investigated glass specimens. The indirect optical gap values reduced, whereas linear-(n_o) and nonlinear-(n₂) refractive indices increased as Nd₂O₃ content increased in the glass network. The criterion metallization (M) was declined. Mass-(MAC) and linear-(LAC) absorption factors increased, whereas half-(HVL) and tenth-(TVL) value layers declined as Nd³⁺ ions increased. The obtained results showed that the fabricated Nd₂O₃-doped glasses potentially beneficial for optical and radiation shielding applications.