Effect of gold nanoparticle dispersion on the structural, optical and radiation shielding parameters of sodium borate glass

Abstract Borate-derived radiation shielding glasses have been thoroughly explored, yet the effects of gold nanoparticle (GNP) dispersion on sodium borate glasses remain unstudied. This study investigates the impact of GNP dispersion and varying GNP concentrations on the radiation shielding properties and other parameters of sodium borate glass. All the glasses were prepared using the melt-quench technique with a composition of 30Na 2 O-70B 2 O 3 , containing 0, 2 × 10 −10 , and 2 × 10 −9 mol% of nanoparticles. The x-ray diffractogram (XRD) confirmed the amorphous nature of the prepared glass samples, while Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed structural modifications, indicated by the formation of non-bridging oxygens due to the incorporation of GNPs. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) confirmed the presence of GNPs with an average size of 1.317 nm, and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) revealed further coagulation of GNPs into tiny grains to alleviate surface stresses. Density measurements showed a clear decrease from 2.3051 to 2.1363 g cm −3 with the incorporation of gold nanoparticles. Additionally, a localized surface plasmon resonance peak centered at 612 nm was observed in the UV–Vis spectrogram of the glass with the highest GNP concentration. Radiation shielding parameters, including the mass attenuation coefficient (MAC), linear attenuation coefficient (LAC), half-value layer (HVL), tenth-value layer (TVL), mean free path (MFP), and effective atomic number (Z eff ), were analyzed using Phy-X/PSD software. The LAC value initially decreases from 76.073 to 70.502 cm −1 with the incorporation of GNPs but increases to 75.878 cm −1 with a higher GNP concentration. This glass system exhibited superior radiation shielding parameters compared to various reported glass systems, indicating its potential for shielding applications.