Nuclear radiation shielding performance of the new lead‐free TeO₂–Bi₂O₃–ZnO–BaF₂ glass

Abstract

This paper studied the radiation shielding properties of new lead‐free telluride glass with different BaF2 content. The 65TeO2–15Bi2O3–(20 − x)ZnO–xBaF2 glass systems (where x = 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 mol%) were tested through the X‐ray diffraction, ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometer, and differential scanning calorimetry. The glass system exhibited good thermal stability and a uniform surface without surface crystallization. The linear attenuation coefficient of the TBZBF series glass was tested using five different gamma radiation sources (241Am, 133Ba, 57Co, 137Cs, and 60Co). They were calculated to the mass attenuation coefficient, half‐value layer, mean free path, and effective atomic number through numerical simulations with XCOM software. The maximum mass attenuation coefficient for TBZBF‐9 was calculated to be 5.3577 cm2/g. Comparisons were made between this glass system and other tellurite and leaded glasses reported in the literature. The glass system exhibited superior radiation shielding capability compared to leaded tellurite glass under the same testing conditions. The gamma radiation shielding capacity increased with BaF2 content in the glass system. These results show that TBZBF‐9 exhibited the best gamma radiation shielding effectiveness while maintaining glass transparency.