An investigation of the nuclear shielding effectiveness of some transparent glasses manufactured from natural quartz doped lead cations

Abstract

The influence of lead cations on natural quartz (QZ) from Egypt as a glass shielding material for the composition with nominal formula (10Na2O - (90 - x) QZ – xPbO (where x = 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 mol %)) was examined. The studied samples are synthesized via the melt quenching method at 1050 °C. The X-ray diffraction XRD patterns were confirmed the glass nature for studied samples. Moreover, the optical properties, and the transparency for all compositions were examined by UV–Vis spectroscopy. Also, the major elemental composition of the natural quartz were estimated via the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technique. Further, the density and molar volume were determined. Furthermore, the nuclear shielding parameters such as, mass attenuation coefficient, effective atomic number, electronic density, the total atomic, and electronic cross sections as well as the mean free path, and the half value layer with different gamma ray energies (81 keV–1407 keV) were calculated. Besides, the results showed that the shielding behavior towards the gamma ray radiation for all glass samples was increased as the increment in PbO concentration in the glass system.