Roles of ZnO and La2O3 in enhancing the mechanical, optical, and radiation shielding properties of B2O3-Bi2O3-Na2O transparent glasses

This work aims to propose three glass systems composed of B₂O₃-Bi₂O₃-Na₂O-ZnO-La₂O₃ for potential radiation shielding purposes. These glasses gave the following codes: 14Zn1La, 16Zn2La, and 18Zn3La. The effect of changing ZnO and La₂O₃ contents on the mechanical, optical, and gamma radiation shielding properties of the glasses was investigated, as the components were selected for their high density. Makishima and Mackenzie's principles determined the mechanical qualities, while the optical properties were determined using the Mott and Davis relation and absorption spectra. There was a slight variation in the mechanical and optical characteristics with the addition of La₂O₃ and ZnO instead of B₂O₃. For 14Zn1La and 18Zn3La, there was a 3.302–3.332 eV increase in energy. Meanwhile, for 14Zn1La and 18Zn3La, the packing density values were in the range of 0.625 to 0.615. The Phy-X program was used to determine the shielding properties, which showed promising results with the replacement of B₂O₃ by La₂O₃ and ZnO. Including ZnO and La₂O₃ improves the glasses' radiation shielding effectiveness, as indicated by the effective atomic number values, which follow the pattern 14Zn1La <16Zn2La <18Zn3La. Ultimately, it can be said that adding La₂O₃ and ZnO improves the shielding qualities of existing glasses while decreasing the stability of the glass.