Synthesis, mechanical, and radiation-attenuation characteristics of aluminium phosphate glass system modified by NiO/Li₂O

Abstract This study investigates the effects of NiO incorporation on the mechanical and radiation shielding properties of xNiO–80P 2 O 5 –5Al 2 O 3 –(15−x) Li 2 O glass samples. Density increased from 2.964 for PLANi-0 to 3.654 g/cm 3 for PLANi-3 due to the higher atomic mass of NiO compared to Li 2 O. Molar volume decreased from 41.54 to 34.06 cm 3 /mol. This suggests that NiO strengthens the glass network, leading to higher compactness and improved mechanical properties. Both longitudinal ( V L ) and shear ( V T ) ultrasonic velocities increased from 3,934 to 4,352 and from 1,834 to 2,010 for PLANi-0 and PLANi-3 respectively. The elastic moduli increased with increasing NiO content. The linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) decreases as photon energy (E) increases. At energy of 50 keV, the examined glass samples PLANi-0, PLANi-0.5, PLANi-1, PLANi-2, and PLANi-5 had HVL values of 0.71695, 0.65995, 0.62128, 0.57976, and 0.5317 cm. A denser glass results in more atomic interactions and higher LAC, which directly reduces HVL and MFP. This makes higher-NiO glasses more efficient for radiation protection.