Structural and enhanced gamma-ray attenuation in PbO-doped B₂O₃–TeO₂–CaO–MgO glass system: An experimental and simulation study

The current study aims to fabricate a boro-tellurite glass series containing (60-y)B₂O₃–20TeO₂- yPbO-15CaO–5MgO; y = 17, 20, 23, and 26 mol% for radiation shielding applications. The experimental assessments were utilized to evaluate the influence of the substitution of PbO for B₂O₃ on the structural and gamma-ray attenuating characteristics of the produced glasses. Structural assessment was carried out by FT-IR spectroscopy, and the results show the presence of diverse structural units and alterations observed as the PbO loading rises in the examined glass composition. Furthermore, the gamma-ray attenuation parameters were determined using the NaI(Tl) detector across the energy range varied from 0.356 to 1.332 MeV. The measurements confirm that the rise in PbO concentration from 17 to 26 mol% increases the linear attenuation coefficient by 23.2% (at 0.356 MeV), 23.5% (at 0.662 MeV), and 18.1% (at 1.173 MeV). The Monte Carlo simulation was utilized to confirm the measured linear attenuation coefficient, where the maximum difference between the two approaches reaches ±8.5%.