Unveiling the effect of CeO2 addition on optical, physical and radiation shielding efficiency in binary lead borate glasses

Binary systems comprising PbO–B₂O₃ glasses doped with CeO₂ were created using traditional melt-annealing techniques, and the XRD patterns confirmed their amorphous glassy nature. Optical and physical characteristics of some of the glasses were analyzed in relation to the effects of 95 kGy of gamma irradiation. The UV–visible absorption spectra indicated UV peaks below 245 nm associated with the absorption of Fe³⁺ ions that contaminated the chemicals used, along with two UV peaks at 360 and 440 nm related to Ce³⁺ and Ce⁴⁺ ions, and the potential charge transfer from Ce⁴⁺ to Ce³⁺ through 4f→5d transitions. The optical spectra, as well as both indirect and direct optical energy gap (Eopt) values, demonstrated a high resistance to gamma irradiation. Various physical parameters of the glasses were also determined in relation to the influence of irradiation, such as density (ρ), molar volume (V_m), molar refraction (R^molar), electronic polarizability (α^molar), refraction loss (R^loss), optical transmission (T^optical), metallization criterion (M^criterion), static (ε^static) and optical dielectric (ε^optical) values, and the refractive index through various calculations. Additionally, experimental, simulated Monte Carlo, and theoretical Phy-X/PSD software were utilized to explore the radiation shielding parameters of the glasses under investigation, including LAC, MAC, Z_eff, N_eff, C_eff, HVL, TVL, and MFP. The comprehensive results indicate that the produced glasses could serve as promising candidates for practical radiation shielding applications.