Comparative investigation of physical,X-ray and neutron radiation shielding properties for B2O3-MnO2-CdO borate glasses

B₂O₃-MnO₂-CdO ternary oxide glasses with amorphous properties were synthesised using the melt-quenching method. Structural and physical property analyses showed that the amount of non-bridging oxygen and the system stiffness increases, and the oxide network filling is more tightly packed as cadmium oxide (CdO) gradually replaces manganese Oxide (MnO₂) in the glass. The radiation-shielding performance of the B₂O₃-MnO₂-CdO glasses was evaluated using the shielding parameters calculated by the MCNPX simulation and the Phy-X program. Glasses with 40% and 50% CdO loading exhibited an average specific lead equivalent (PbE) of 0.241 and 0.294 mmPb/mm in the medical X-ray diagnostic area at 0.03–0.08 MeV; thus, they could fully meet the specific PbE requirements for application as "protection devices against diagnostic medical X-radiation". Furthermore, their photon attenuation capability is superior to that of various commercial shielding glasses in fast-neutron nuclear applications at 1°–10³ MeV. In addition, compared to the borate glass systems studied in the literature, B₂O₃-MnO₂-CdO glasses have fast neutron removal cross-sections of 0.125 cm⁻¹ at a smaller density of 3.9043–4.8135 g/cm³, making them potentially excellent fast neutron absorbers.     

Physical,optical and gamma radiation shielding competence of newly boro-tellurite based glasses: TeO2–B2O3–ZnO–Li2O3–Bi2O3

Herein, a traditional melt quenching method was utilized to synthesize glasses with a nominal chemical composition (80-x)TeO₂-xB₂O₃–5ZnO–5Li₂O₃–10Bi₂O₃: 30≤ x ≤ 80 mol%). The produced sample was coded as TBBZL30 to TBBZL80. X-ray diffraction (XRD) has been employed to test the amorphous nature of the synthesized samples. In the range of 200–500 nm wavelength, UV–Vis spectra for the glasses have been performed. Optical energy gaps ($E_{gap}$) have been determined based on the absorption measurements. With the help of ($E_{gap}$), refractive index (n), molar polarizability (α^M), metallization criterion (M^Cri.), molar refractivity (R^M), static dielectric constant (ε^Sta.), optical dielectric constant (ε^Opt.), reflection loss (R^L) and optical transmission (T^Opt.) have been calculated. For the fabricated boro-tellurite glasses, Phy-X/PSD was used to report some shielding factors for several energies between 15 keV and 15 MeV. The maximum attenuation for all samples took place at 15 keV and the mass attenuation coefficient varied between 52.309 and 57.084 cm²/g. The linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) results demonstrated that TBBZL80 has the highest attenuation than the rest of samples which is due to high content of TeO₂ (containing 80 mol% of TeO₂) whereas TBBZL30 has the lowest attenuation. The LAC for the fabricated samples varied between 230.160 and 351.064 cm-¹ at 15 keV. The minimum effective atomic number (EAN) occurred between 0.8 and 4 MeV and varied between 15.16 and 17.35 for TBBZL30 and 25.10–28.33 for TBBZL80. The addition of TeO₂ was found to enhance the EAN and improved shielding properties for the tested TBBZL glass systems.     

Raman investigations of NH3 adsorption on TiO2, Nb2O5, and Nb2O5/TiO2

A study has been carried out of the interactions of NH₃ with TiO₂, Nb₂O₅, and Nb₂O₅/TiO₂. Raman spectroscopy was used to characterize the structure of the adsorbed NH₃ and perturbations of species present at the surface of the adsorbent. On each oxide, NH₃ adsorbs predominantly at Lewis acid sites. Hydrogen-bonding occurs between the adsorbed NH₃ and OH groups present on the surface of TiO₂. A small concentration of NH ₄ ⁺ is observed, consistent with the relatively low concentration of Brønsted acid sites compared to Lewis acid sites on each of the samples investigated. Exposure of Nb₂O₅/TiO₂ to NH₃ at temperatures up to 500°C does not result in partial reduction of the supported niobia.     

Preparation,characterization, and mechanical-optical properties of telluro-borate glasses containing tungsten

The current work is interested in the preparation, characterization, and mechanical-optical properties of the glasses in the (75-x)B₂O₃–10SrO–8TeO₂–7ZnO−xWO₃ system, with (x = 0 (BSTZW0), 1 (BSTZW1), 5 (BSTZW2), 10 (BSTZW3), 22 (BSTZW4), 27 (BSTZW5), 34 (BSTZW6), and 40 mol% (BSTZW7). The preparation of the glasses has involved the melt-quenching route. The new glasses are characterized by different characterization techniques using densimeter, microhardness, Raman spectroscopy, UV–visible absorption and emission, and X-ray diffraction. Photoluminescence can determine the impact of substituting B₂O₃ with WO₃ on the mechanical-optical parameters and the structure of the present glasses. The prepared samples’ X-ray patterns showed amorphous states. The density value rises from 2.88 to 4.50 g/cm3, with the amount of WO₃ rising from 0 to 40 mol% as a result of the difference in molecular weight between WO₃ and B₂O₃. The Vickers microhardness (Hv) rises as the amount of WO₃ increases as a result of a decrease in free volume and the formation of covalent bonds. The elastic moduli were found to increase when the WO₃ concentrations increased from 0 to 40 mol%. This increase depends on the formation of bridging oxygen atoms. The Raman bands are designed to correspond to the bonds that form the structure of the current glass and detect the insertion of WO₃ content by the attribution of the new W–O–W and W–O bonds. The UV–Visible spectroscopy analysis showed no band characteristic for the reduced species of W⁵⁺ ions identified by dark blue. However, the photoluminescence spectra showed emission bands (under excitation at 300 nm) that are associated with the active centers of W⁴⁺, W⁵⁺, and W⁶⁺ ions.     

Microstructural characterization and crystallization of (1 − x)TeO2–xCdF2 (x = 0.10, 0.15, 0.25 mol) glasses

The differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffractometer and scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM/EDS) techniques were used to investigate the microstructural characterization and the thermal behavior of the three (1 − x)TeO₂–xCdF₂ (x = 0.10, 0.15, 0.25 mol) glasses. The effect of the heating rate, annealing temperature and CdF₂ content on the thermal and the microstructural properties of TeO₂–CdF₂ binary glasses were enquired. DTA analysis has shown that as the CdF₂ content in the glass composition increases, the value of the glass transition and the peak crystallization temperatures shift to higher values. SEM/EDS investigations have shown that the crystal formation of α-TeO₂, γ-TeO₂ and CdTe₂O₅ crystal phases were observed when the 0.90TeO₂–0.10CdF₂ and the 0.85TeO₂–0.15CdF₂ glass samples were annealed to temperatures above the crystallization temperatures. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results illustrated clearly the transformation of the metastable γ-TeO₂ phase to stable α-TeO₂ crystalline phase as the annealing temperature was increased from 385 to 425 °C for the 0.75TeO₂–0.25CdF₂ glass.     

Physical,thermal, optical,structural and nuclear radiation shielding properties of Sm2O3 reinforced borotellurite glasses

To observe direct effect of samarium (III) oxide reinforcement on physical, thermal, optical, structural and nuclear radiation attenuation properties, a broad-range experimental and numerical investigations were performed with a group of novel borotellurite glasses. FTIR spectra of powdered samples were taken at 250-4000 cm^-1. The transmittance and absorption characteristics, optical band gaps, and Urbach energies were measured. The glass transition temperatures, crystallization temperatures and melting temperature values of the samples were determined. Nuclear radiation shielding properties have been determined for gamma-ray, neutrons and heavy charged particles. The lowest transmittance and highest absorbance were reported for the TBVS1.5 sample with highest Sm₂O₃ additive. In addition, obtained results from the nuclear radiation shielding calculations have showed that TBVS1.5 sample has superior nuclear radiation shielding properties against gamma-ray, neutron and heavy charged particles. The increasing Sm2O3 additive has visibly improved the nuclear radiation attenuation properties by keeping other material properties within usable limits.     

Raman spectra,bond characteristics,and microwave dielectric properties of Gd2Mo3O12 ceramics

Gd₂Mo₃O₁₂ ceramics were prepared using the traditional solid-phase reaction method. All samples were found to possess an orthorhombic crystal structure with a space group of Pba2, as revealed by refined XRD results. The ceramic sintered at 1000 °C exhibited a high relative density of 96.95 % and superior microwave dielectric properties, including ε_r of 9.42 ± 0.05,  × f of 49258 ± 1200 GHz, and τ_f of −71.8 ± 0.7 ppm/°C. The results suggest a correlation between an increase in ε_r and higher relative density, and a more compact and uniform microstructure can lead to higher  × f value. Chemical bonding theories and Raman spectroscopy analysis reveal that Mo-O bonds, rather than Gd-O bonds, dominate the microwave dielectric properties. Furthermore, the ε_r of Gd₂Mo₃O₁₂ ceramic was closely related to bond ionicity, while  × f and τ_f were mainly determined by lattice energy and bond energy, respectively.     

Synthesis,physical, optical,structural and radiation shielding characterization of borate glasses: A focus on the role of SrO/Al2O3 substitution

In a bid to expand the amount of information available on glass systems and their potential applications for radiation shielding design, glass samples with the compositions (30-x)SrO-xAl₂O₃–68B₂O₃–2V₂O₅(x = 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5&15 mol %) coded as SABV0 - 4 were prepared by the melt-quenching technique and analyzed for their optical, structural, physical, and radiation shielding features. The glassy (amorphous) nature of the SABV glass samples was affirmed by broad peaks of X-ray diffraction spectra. Calculated values of density and molar volume shown opposite behavior and the variation of these values were discussed as structural modifications in the glass matrix. From recorded optical absorption spectra optical band gap energy (Eg)-indirect transition, Urbach energy and optical basicity were estimated. FTIR spectra were recorded for all the samples in the range 400 cm^?1 to 4000 cm^?1. The FTIR absorbance spectra unveiled the SABV network structure mainly incorporating of BO₃ and BO₄ units. Raman spectroscopy is achieved to detect the structural changes and at higher wavenumber, B–O stretching modes in [BO₃] observed with one or two NBO's. The results of ESR spectra of glasses have indicated the highly covalent environment of vanadium ions. Analysis of the photon shielding parameters of the glasses which were obtained primarily from FLUKA Monte Carlo simulations and XCOM computations revealed photon energy and glass chemical composition dependence. The mass attenuation coefficient and effective atomic number ranged from 0.2668 to 0.3385 cm²g^-1 and 12.98–15.93 accordingly as the weight fraction of Sr increased from 16.06 to 26.72% in the glasses. Generally, photon shielding ability of the SABV glasses follows the trend: SABV0 > SABV1 > SABV2 > SABV3 > SABV4. The thermal neutron total cross section follows the same trend with values fluctuating between 71.9553 and 80.6268 cm^?1. However, SABV1 showed superior fast neutron moderating capacity among the glasses. The present SABV glasses showed outstanding photon shielding ability compared to common shields. The prepared glasses are thus suitable candidates for radiation protection applications.     

Influence of Bi2O3/WO3 substitution on the optical,mechanical, chemical durability and gamma ray shielding properties of lithium-borate glasses

Six different lithium bismuth boro-tungstate glasses with chemical composition 20Li₂O-(20-x)Bi₂O₃-xWO₃-60B₂O₃ (x = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 mol%) were produced by the quenching method. Then, the glasses were investigated by means of their optical, mechanical, chemical durability and gamma ray shielding properties. Measured values of density and ultrasonic velocities were used to determine the elastic properties of the glasses. The optical band gap determined using the absorbance spectrum fitting (ASF) model was found to decrease under Bi₂O₃/WO₃ substitution. The presence of BO₃, BO₄, BiO₆, and WO₄ structural groups in the glasses was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The dissolution rate in the glass 20Li₂O–15Bi₂O₃–5WO₃–60B₂O₃ (LBWB5) was found to be 10 times lower than 20Li₂O-20Bi₂O₃– 60B₂O₃. Mass attenuation coefficients (MAC) values of the produced glasses were determined using the MCNPX Monte Carlo code and Phy-X/PSD program. The photon attenuation parameters such as half value layer (HVL), mean free path (MFP), effective atomic number (Z_eff), exposure buildup factor (EBF) and energy absorption buildup factor (EABF) were also studied. The obtained results showed that Bi₂O₃/WO₃ substitution has a direct impact on the photon attenuation abilities of produced glasses. More specifically, HVL values increased from 0.252 × 10^?2 cm for LBWB0 glass to 0.275 × 10^?2 cm for LBWB5 glass. However, different trends were observed for the photon buildup factors for the produced glasses. It can be concluded that the produced glasses have promising structural, optical, and photon attenuation properties to be used for gamma shielding applications.     

Synthesis,FTIR, and mechanical as well as radiation shielding characteristics in Nd2O3-doped bismuth lithium borate glasses

A melt quenching method was applied to fabricate a series of bismuth lithium borate glasses with a chemical composition of 65(B₂O₅) + 20(Bi₂O₃) + (15 ? x)(Li₂O) + x(Nd₂O₃), where x = 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 mol%. The structural changes in the fabricate glasses were studied via the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The FT-IR spectra of the manufactured glasses indicated the transformation of the structural unit BO₄. The mechanical properties of the produced glasses were evaluated via the ultrasonic measurement (longitudinal and shear velocities) and the Makishima–Mackenzie modulus calculations. Furthermore, the role of Nd₂O₃ in improving mechanical properties was studied theoretically and experimentally and results showed that ultrasonic velocities and elastic moduli decreased with increasing the Nd₂O₃ content. The Young's modulus decreased from 68.47 to 50.61 GPa as the Nd₂O₃ content increased from 0 to 4 mol%, respectively. The gamma ray shielding properties of the studied glass samples were evaluated using the Monte Carlo simulations between 0.223 and 2.506 MeV. The simulated data showed that the fabricated glass without Nd₂O₃ has the highest linear attenuation coefficient, which varied between 0.210 and 0.212 cm^?1 for photons with energies ranging from 0.2234 to 2.506 MeV.     

Phase composition,Raman spectra,infrared spectra and dielectric properties of Li2MgTi1-x(Mg1/3Nb2/3)xO4 ceramics at microwave frequency

The Li₂MgTi_1-x(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)_xO₄ (0?≤x?≤?0.5) ceramics were prepared by the conventional solid-state method. The relationship among phase composition, substitution amount and microwave dielectric properties of the ceramics was symmetrically investigated. All the samples possess the rock salt structure with the space group of Fm-3m. As the x value increases from 0 to 0.5, the dielectric constant linearly decreases from 16.75 to 15.56, which can be explained by the variation of Raman spectra and infrared spectra. The Q·f value shows an upward tendency in the range of 0?≤x?≤?0.3, but it then decreases when x?>?0.3. In addition, the temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (τ_f) is shifted toward zero with the increasing (Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)⁴⁺ addition. By comparison, the Li₂MgTi_0.7(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)_0.3O₄ ceramics sintered at 1400?°C can achieve an excellent combination of microwave dielectric properties: ε_r=?16.19, Q·f =?160,000?GHz and τ_f =??3.14?ppm/°C.     

Degradation of Sulfosalicylic Acid by O3/UV O3/TiO2/UV,and O3/V-O/TiO2 : A Comparative Study

Chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal rates of sulfosalicylic acid (SSal) degraded by three advanced oxidation processes (AOPs): O₃/UV, O₃/TiO₂/UV and O₃/V-O/TiO₂ are compared in this paper. (V = Vanadium). The results show that O₃/V-O/TiO₂ is the most effective process among three AOPs and the order of degradation efficiencies at different pH values is shown as O₃/V-O/TiO₂ > O₃/TiO₂/UV > O₃/UV. For example, at the buffered solution of pH 6.8, the COD removal rate of O₃/V-O/TiO₂ reaches 70% in 30 minutes, but those of O₃/TiO₂/UV and O₃/UV are 55% and 47% at the same conditions, respectively. Furthermore, the effect of CO₃ ^{2 ?}on the COD removal rates of three AOPs shows that O₃/V-O/TiO₂ and O₃/TiO₂/UV may be considerable promising methods to overcome the limitation of the presence of radical scavenger in solution. Both the adsorption of SSal on catalysts and other oxidants (atom oxygen, photo-generated hole) must be responsible for the above result.     

Ozonation,Ozone/UV and UV/H2O2 Degradation of Chlorophenols

The performance of the O₃, O₃/UV and UV/H₂O₂ processes for degradation of six chlorophenols (4-chlorophenol, 2-chlorophenol, 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol and pentachlorophenol) were studied in laboratory reactors. Comparative study showed that chlorophenols can be degraded successfully by all of the methods studied, whilst traditional ozonation at high pH was determined to be the most effective method to treat chlorophenols. Even though the molar absorptivity of chlorophenols is known to be relatively high in the UV-region, the combination of UV-radiation with ozone did not accelerate the degradation of chlorophenols further. The toxicity of degradation products formed during ozonation of chlorophenols has been compared with the toxicity of pure chlorophenols utilizing Daphnia magna 24 hours test. Ozonation of chlorophenols yielded less toxic or even nontoxic products for Daphnia magna compared with parent compounds.     

First-principles, UV Raman, X-ray diffraction and TEM study of the structure and lattice dynamics of the diamond-lonsdaleite system

We report the results of the study of the polycrystalline powder of the diamond-lonsdaleite system by X-ray diffractometry, transmission electron microscopy and UV Raman spectroscopy. The measured data of structural parameters are in good agreement with ab initio calculations. We show that the Raman spectrum is proportional to the phonon density of states of the diamond-lonsdaleite system.     

Radiation attenuation and optical features of lithium borate glasses containing barium: B2O3.Li2O.BaO

The influence of BaO on the optical characteristics and nuclear radiation shielding properties for 60B₂O₃-(40-x)Li₂O-xBaO: x = 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 mol% glasses was investigated. Various optical parameters such as optical transmission and reflection loss (T^Optical, R^Loss), molar refraction and molar polarizability (R^Molar, α^Molar), optical and static dielectric coefficients and metallization criterion (ε^Optical, ε^Static, M^Criterion), and metallization property according to refractive index and optical energy gap (M(n^Linear), M(E^Optical)), were determined. The results confirmed that R^Molar changes directly with α^Molar, while T^Optical changes inversely with R^Loss. The mass attenuation coefficient (μ/ρ) was investigated using WinXCOM software and the results showed that all the S1–S5 glasses have good attenuation ability at 284 keV due to their high mass attenuation coefficients (μ/ρ). The highest and lowest values of μ/ρ occurred at 284 keV and 1.33 MeV respectively and varied between 0.1055 and 0.1361 cm²/g and 0.0526–0.0534 cm²/g. The linear attenuation coefficient (μ) increased with the gradual addition of BaO from glass S1→S5. The results showed that the effective atomic number (Z_eff) for S1 is almost constant, while S5 possessed the highest Z_eff values. The half value layer (HVL) was estimated and the effect of BaO on this parameter was analyzed. At 284 keV, the HVL values were 2.8192, 2.3847, 2.1597, 1.9687 and 1.8936 cm for S1–S5 glasses respectively. The S5 sample possessed the least HVL, and accordingly, had better attenuation capabilities than the S1–S4 samples. Therefore, lithium borate glasses with high concentration of BaO can be applied in several optical and medical applications.     

Influence of Gd content on the structural,Raman spectroscopic and magnetic properties of CoFe2O4 nanoparticles synthesized by sol-gel route

The structural and magnetic properties of sol-gel synthesized Gd doped (x = 0.00 to 0.15) CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles (NPs) have been studied. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) and FTIR spectroscopy along with Raman spectra confirmed the formation of face centered cubic inverse spinel structure. TEM images showed the NPs are well-dispersed with average particle size 30 nm. Room temperature magnetic measurement showed the value of coercivity fluctuates from 353 Oe to 1060 Oe for different % of Gd content. The maximum coercivity, saturation magnetization, magnetic moment, magnetic anisotropy, remnant magnetization found for 0.03% Gd content are 1060.19 Oe, 77.53 emu/gm, 3.29 μ, 4.11 × 10⁴ erg/cm³, 32.38 emu/gm, respectively. The large value of coercivity indicated that the interparticle interactions and crystalline anisotropy are high. Thus CoFe_2-xGd_xO₄ magnetic NPs might be a potential candidate for data processing, automotive and telecommunications.     

Optical properties,thermal stability,and forming region of high refractive index La2O3–TiO2–Nb2O5 glasses

The high refractive index La₂O₃–TiO₂–Nb₂O₅ glasses were prepared by containerless processing, and the glass‐forming region was determined. The refractive index showed the range from 2.20 to 2.32, and the values were much higher than those of most optical glasses. The completely miscible 30LaO_3/2–(70?x)TiO₂–xNbO_5/2 (0 ≤ x ≤70) system was fabricated to study the compositional dependence of refractive index and optical transmittance. The crucial determinants of the refractive index of oxide glasses, oxygen molar volume, and electronic polarizability of oxygen ions were calculated. The principle of additivity of glass properties was suitable for the calculation of refractive index between glass and compositional oxides. All the glasses were colorless and transparent in the visible to 6.5 μm middle infrared (MIR) region. These results are useful for designing new optical glasses with high refractive index and low wavelength dispersion in wide optical window.     

UV, Raman and XRD study of polymorphism of poly(methyl-n-propylsilane)

Raman, UV and XRD studies have been performed to characterize the structures of differently prepared samples of poly(methyl-n-propylsilane). The results demonstrate polymorphism of this polymer between T_c and T_g. At room temperature the polymer can exist in up to four modifications which comprise one amorphous disordered phase and three more ordered modifications, differing in the interchain organization and in the silicon backbone conformations. The latter are considered to be deviant, transoid and all-anti, respectively. The number of the modifications present and relative amount of each strongly depends on the preparation method and thermal history of the sample as well as on the molecular weight.     

Effects of Cr2O3 and CaF2 on the structure,crystal growth behavior,and properties of augite-based glass ceramics

Glass ceramics were synthetized using Cr₂O₃ and CaF₂ as additives, and their structure, crystal growth behavior, and physicochemical properties were investigated. The results showed that an excessive amount of Cr₂O₃ leads to the formation of a spinel structure in the glass matrix and an increase in the number of Q³Si units. The addition of CaF₂ promoted the decomposition of Q²Si into Q¹Si and Q³Si. Compared with the sample with Cr₂O₃ alone, the addition of CaF₂ helped reduce the glass transition and crystallization temperatures, forming sharper crystallization peaks. Although CaF₂ increased the activation energy of crystallization, it increased the degree of crystallinity and Avrami parameter (2.019). In terms of the microstructure, the sample added with CaF₂ formed a snowflake-like structure with a spinel core. An excessive amount of spinel reduced the strength of the samples. The samples (1.5Cr₂O₃-3.5CaF₂) exhibited a maximum flexural strength of 149.85 MPa and a good chemical resistance.