Strength, thermally stable, and highly transparent glass shields for boron neutron capture therapy facilities

Nuclear facilities, such as BNCT rooms, require shielding materials that can simultaneously attenuate neutrons and gamma rays. Accordingly, this study advances the development of dual-function gamma ray and thermal neutron glass shields reinforced with barium and boron, providing a practical solution for such nuclear environments. A glass composition of (30+x)B₂O₃-(50-3x)Na₂O-10ZnO-10K₂O-2xBaO was fabricated with varying B₂O₃ and BaO concentrations ($x=0,5,10,$ and 15 mol %, PZSBBa0, PZSBBa1, PZSBBa2, and PZSBBa3). The addition of B₂O₃ and BaO enhanced glass’s density, network connectivity, thermal stability, mechanical strength, and transparency. The half value layer of PZSBBa3 glass was minimized to 2.305, 2.665, 3.683, and 3.943 cm for gamma ray energies of 478, 661.64, 1173.23, and 1332.5 keV, respectively. Furthermore, adding 45 mol % of B₂O₃ (PZSBBa3) improved thermal neutron attenuation by 96.6 %. These findings position the fabricated PZSBBa3 glass as a promising radiation shield in nuclear facilities, particularly in BNCT, marking a significant progression in shielding material development.