Bario-Silicate Glasses Reinforced With Cadmium Oxide: Physical, Mechanical Properties and Gamma Radiation Shielding Competence

This study investigates the impact of varying compositions of CdO, BaO, Bi₂O₃, and SiO₂ in glass materials on their physical, mechanical, and gamma radiation shielding properties. A series of glass samples with chemical compositions (50-x)CdO-10BaO-xBi₂O₃-40SiO₂: x = 0, 10, 20, and 30 mol% were prepared via the melt-quenching method. The density (ρ) of the investigated glass samples enhanced from 4.87 g/cm³ to 6.74 g/cm³ as Bi₂O₃ increased from 0 to 30 mol%. Young’s modulus (E) changed from 55.231 to 50.959 GPa, bulk modulus (B) changed from 38.589 to 32.740 GPa, shear modulus (S) changed from 21.892 to 20.538 GPa, and longitudinal modulus (L) changed from 55.008 to 48.144 GPa. Mass attenuation coefficient (G_MAC) and half-value layer (G_HVL) across a range of photon energies (0.122 to 1.332 MeV) were evaluated. The results indicate that increasing the Bi₂O₃ content while reducing CdO enhances the glass density and improves gamma photon attenuation at lower energy levels. The glass sample with the composition GBi-10 exhibited the most effective radiation shielding, with the lowest G_HVL and highest G_MAC values. In contrast, the sample with the highest CdO content (GBi-30) demonstrated the least effective shielding performance at higher energy levels. This study highlights the critical role of glass composition in optimizing radiation shielding properties and offers valuable insights for developing advanced materials for medical, nuclear, and aerospace applications.