X-ray radiation shielding of CeO₂ doped borosilicate glasses and their luminescence characteristics

The novel shielding materials from (55-x) SiO₂: 13B₂O₃: 1Al₂O₃: 4.5BaO: 6.3CaO: 0.2Sb₂O₃: 20Na₂O: xCeO₂ where x = 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 mol% glasses have been fabricated at different CeO₂ concentration by melt-quenching technique and studied the luminescence and radiation shielding properties. The transmission spectra show red-shift in UV range, due to higher Ce concentration in the glass matrix. The emission bands of glasses around 393 nm were observed from the 5d-4f transition of an electron in the Ce³⁺ ion. In the present glass matrix doped with CeO₂ shows oxidation state of both Ce³⁺ and Ce⁴⁺. Decay curves are also investigated and found to be less than 100 ns. The X-rays shielding properties such as half-value layer (HVL), tenth value layer (TVL), mean free path (MFP), and linear attenuation coefficients (μ) of glass were investigated. The HVL values of glass samples at 5 mol% has better shielding behavior than commercial x-ray windows. The obtained results from the measurements suggests that these glasses are potential host for radiation shielding material application and also UV emitting device applications.