Role of modifiers on the structural, mechanical, optical and radiation protection attributes of Eu3+ incorporated multi constituent glasses

Abstract

The effect of modifiers on the optical features and radiation defying ability of the Eu3+ ions doped multi constituent glasses was examined. XRD has established the amorphous nature of the specimen. The presence of various functional/fundamental groups in the present glasses was analyzed through FTIR spectra. The physical, structural and elastic traits of the glasses were explored. The variation in the structural compactness of the glass structure according to the incorporated modifier was enlightened to describe their suitability for a better shielding media. For the examined glasses, the metallization criterion value varied in the range 0.613–0.692, indicating the non-metallic character of the glasses with possible nonlinear optical applications. The computed elastic moduli expose the Li-containing glass (BTLi:Eu) to be tightly packed and rigid, which is a requirement for a better shielding channel. Furthermore, the optical bandgap and the Urbach energy values are calculated based on the optical absorption spectra. The evaluated bonding parameters revealed the nature of the fabricated glasses covalent. In addition, we investigated the radiation attenuation attributes of the prepared Eu3+ ions doped multi constituent glasses using Phy-X software. We determined the linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) and reported the influence of the five oxides Li2O3, CaO, BaO, SrO, and ZnO on the LAC values. The LAC varied between 0.433 and 0.549 cm−1 at 0.284 MeV. The 39B2O3−25TeO2−15Li2O3−10Na2O−10K2O −1Eu2O3 glass has a much smaller LAC than the other glasses.

Keywords

• Multi constituent glasses
• FTIR
• Elastic moduli
• Optical bandgap
• Bonding parameters
• Radiation shielding