Gamma radiation shielding materials of lanthanum calcium silicoborate glasses

The effects of La₂O₃ based glasses in the glass formula (80-x) B₂O₃: 10SiO₂: 10 CaO: x La₂O₃ where x = 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 mol% have been fabricated by a melt-quenching technique, and have been investigated for physical, optical, and radiation shielding properties. The density of the glass was found to increase with increasing concentrations of La₂O₃. The optical spectra were measured by a UV-Visible spectrophotometer, and this glass has been shown to have advantages due to good transparency. The cut off wavelengths for glass samples with increasing La₂O₃ concentration are found to shift toward longer wavelengths. The experimental value of mass attenuation coefficient (μ_m), and the effective atomic number (Z_eff) of the glass samples increases with increasing levels of La₂O₃ concentration. Additionally, the effective electron density (N_e) of the glass samples was investigated between 224 to 662 keV. The total μ_m, Z_eff and N_e of the glasses decreases exponentially toward higher energy of gamma-rays and they are in agreement with theoretical values. These results are good indications of the potential of the prepared lanthanum calcium silicoborate glasses as a radiation shielding material with lead-free advantages.