The role of lead oxides in the enhancement the radiation shielding properties and physical properties of barium cadmium borate glasses

xPbO – (10-x)BaO – 40CdO – 50B₂O₃ where x = 0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10 mol% (Pb0-Pb4) glasses have been synthesized using high purity grade of Pb₃O₄, BaCO₃, CdCO₃ and H₃BO₃. The density, molar volume, UV–visible, and infrared spectra have been investigated. The capability of such glasses as neutron and photon shielding materials was estimated via Phy-X/PSD program. With the addition of PbO the density increases, while the molar volume reduced. The average boron\(\:-\)boron separation, optical packing density, the optical energy band gap and theoretical optical basicity (Λ_th) are calculated for all studied glasses. Mass-(MAC) and linear-(LAC) absorption coefficients of the investigated glasses were increased, while half-(HVL) value layer and mean-(MFP) free path were decreased as PbO content increased in the glass networks. The Pb4 glass introduced high MAC and having less HVL among all prepared glasses. The highest values of energy absorption buildup factor (EABUF) were performed for Pb4 sample in Compton scattering (CS) range. The values of fast neutron removal cross-section (FNRC) varied from 0.0548–0.0.0555 cm^− 1. Therefore, the Pb4 sample is a candidate for shielding the gamma ray ionizing radiation when compared with the other prepared samples.