Impact of MoO₃ on gamma radiation shielding performance of B₂O₃–TeO₂–GeO₂–MgO glasses: experimental investigation

This study presents data on the gamma radiation shielding properties of differential compositions of molybdenum oxide (MoO₃) incorporated into borate-tellurite-magnesium glasses with a formula of B₂O₃–TeO₂–GeO₂–MgO. The borate-tellurite-magnesium glasses were made using the melt-quenching technique, where the total amount of MoO₃ ranged from 0 to 20 mol%. The experimental measurement was performed at three known gamma photon energies of 0.662, 1.173, and 1.322 MeV utilizing a gamma ray spectrometer NaI(Tl). The shielding parameters of borate-tellurite-magnesium glasses, including the linear attenuation coefficient (LAC), mass attenuation coefficient (MAC), half-value layer (HVL), mean free path (MFP), tenth-value layer (TVL) and the effective atomic number (Z_eff), are estimated. The results showed that the MoO₃ doping improved all the radiation shielding performance, especially at lower energies, due to the significant effective atomic number and density of the glasses. The sample S4 with 20 mol% MoO₃ had the largest LAC (0.3087 cm^{− 1} at 0.662 MeV) and minimum HVL (2.245 cm) for gamma attenuation. The MAC values of the MoO₃-doped borate-tellurite-magnesium glasses were consistently better than those of other reported glass systems, providing improved radiation shielding performance over the measured energy range. The present study findings are indicative that the MoO₃-doped borate-tellurite-magnesium glasses represent new materials for gamma radiation shielding.