Investigation of radiation absorption properties of B2O3-Bİ2O3 glass materials doped with different heavy oxides

Nowadays with scientific and technological developments, radiation is widely used in various fields. In this context, protective measures must be taken to safeguard the health of individuals working in environments where the harmful effects of radiation may occur, such as nuclear power plants, medical imaging systems, nuclear medicine applications, industrial testing, and sterilization processes, and to ensure safe working conditions. In this context, glass materials that can provide high density, appropriate transparency, and effective protection against gamma rays, thanks to the heavy metal oxides they contain, are among the remarkable alternatives in the field of radiation protection. Within the scope of this thesis, three different glass series (BBErx, BBGdx, and BBSmx) were designed by adding different concentrations of heavy metal oxides to the chemical composition of (65-x)B2O3-35Bi2O3-xHMO (x=0, 1, 1.5, 2, 4 mol%; HMO: Er2O3/Gd2O3/Sm2O3). In line with the recipe design, glass samples were synthesized by the melting method, and the physical, structural, and radiation shielding properties of the obtained glasses were investigated. It was observed that increasing heavy metal oxide addition to boron oxide-bismuth oxide based glasses caused an increase in the density value. The structural properties of the samples were examined by the X-ray diffraction method. In order to evaluate the radiation shielding performance of the synthesized glasses, experimental measurements were carried out using 662, 1173, and 1332 keV gamma energies emitted from 60Co and 137Cs radioactive sources with a gamma spectrometer connected to a NaI(Tl) scintillation detector. Theoretical calculations were done using the Phy-X/PSD software in the energy range of 0.015–15 MeV. The obtained shielding parameters were found to be in consistent agreement with both experimental and theoretical results as a function of gamma-ray energies. Additionally, it was concluded that the increase in heavy metal oxide content improved the radiation shielding properties of the glasses.