Investigation of optical and radiation shielding properties in bismuth oxide-doped barium borate glasses

This study presents a novel exploration of barium borate glasses doped with bismuth oxide (Bi2O3) to simultaneously enhance their optical and radiation shielding properties. Using a melting-quenching technique, a series of glasses with compositions of (65-x)B2O3 + 5WO3 + 20BaO + 10Na2O + xBi2O3 (where x = 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 mol%) was produced. X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) confirmed the amorphous nature of the samples, while Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed the conversion of trigonal [BO3] to tetrahedral [BO4] units in the glass structure. The incorporation of Bi2O3 led to a significant increase in density and molar volume. The optical band gap decreased from 3.96 eV to 3.30 eV with higher Bi2O3 concentrations. Notably, the refractive index also increased from 1.49 to 1.63 with the addition of Bi2O3. The elastic moduli (Young's modulus, shear modulus, and bulk modulus) decreased with increasing Bi2O3 content. Additionally, the analysis of radiation shielding effectiveness demonstrated that Bi2O3 significantly increased both the mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) and linear attenuation coefficient (LAC), particularly for low-energy photon interactions, making these glasses suitable for applications involving gamma and X-ray radiation protection. The results establish the potential of Bi2O3-doped barium borate glasses as advanced materials for radiation shielding, photonic devices, and other optoelectronic applications.