Silicate Glass Reinforced by Bi and B as Efficient Protective Materials Against Gamma Rays and Neutrons

Abstract

The growing role of nuclear radiation in various domains necessitated a continuous development in enhancing the efficiency of radiation shielding materials. Generally, a shield that can attenuate thermal and fast neutrons and gamma rays simultaneously is the most effective in various applications. Therefore, in this article, a host glass of sodium silicate (labelled as BSiBi0) was reinforced by 10, 20, 30, and 40 mol. % of each of Bi and B ions simultaneously (BSiBi1, BSiBi2, BSiBi3, and BSiBi4, respectively) to produce an integrated shield capable of attenuating thermal and fast neutrons and gamma rays. To check the attenuation ability of the proposed glasses, fast neutrons removal cross section ΣF, thermal neutrons total macroscopic cross section ΣTh, total mass attenuation coefficients μm, linear attenuation coefficients μ, mean free paths (MFP), half-value layers (HVL), effective atomic numbers (Zeff), effective electron densities (Neff), and buildup factors for energy absorption (EABF) and exposure buildup factor (EBF) were studied extensively. Compared to the host glass (BSiBi0), the attenuation of gamma rays in the BSiBi4 glass (40 mol. % of each of Bi2O3 and B2O3) improved by 3.9–92.5% in the studied energy range, which extended to 100 GeV. At the same time, its ability to attenuate the fast neutrons enhanced by 86.0%, and thermal neutrons by 1402.4%. Hence, the BSiBi4 glass, with a composition of 20SiO2-40B2O3-40Bi2O3, was nominated as an efficient shield in relevant applications, such as hot cells, radiotherapy rooms, and the immobilization and disposal of radioactive wastes, due to its high attenuation ability for both neutrons and gamma rays.