Mechanical and radiation shielding properties of tellurite glasses doped with ZnO and NiO

Abstract This study examines the basic mechanical parameters and radiation shielding properties of (100−x)TeO2+xZnO+4NiO glasses (where x = 9.6, 19.2, 28.8, and 38.4 mol%) glass system. The mechanical study included basic parameters such as hardness, packing density, elastic moduli, and Poisson's ratio. Shielding ability of the glasses was tested against gamma and neutron radiations as well as against charged particles such as electron, proton, and alpha. Geant4 simulations and theoretical calculations by using Phy-X computer program were carried out to estimate mass attenuation coefficient (μ/ρ), neutron removal cross section (RCS), transmission factors namely; half value layer (HVL) and mean free path (MFP), and effective atomic number for total interaction of gamma (Zeff-G), electron (Zeff-E), proton (Zeff-P), and alpha (Zeff-A) radiations. The results showed that ZnO concentration had a significant influence on the mechanical properties and the shielding capability for glasses involved. The values effective atomic number were in the range of 30.2–46.1 for Zeff-G, 21.2–26.5 for Zeff-E, 16.9–19.7 for Zeff-P, and 15.3–18.6 for Zeff-A, respectively. The current glasses can act as superior shielding material as compared with those of Pb-free glasses, commercial glasses, and traditional concrete.