Impact of Varying Bi2O3 and ZnO Concentrations on the Structural, Optical, and Radiation Shielding Properties of B2O3-PbO-ZnO-Bi2O3 Glasses.

The study prepared B2O3-PbO-ZnO-Bi2O3 glasses via melt quenching. With increasing Bi2O3 and ZnO concentrations, there was an increase in density from 5.686 to 6.262 g·cm-3, and the molar mass from 214.702 to 239.187 g·mol-1. This led to a 66.208 to 62.309 oxygen packing density decrease and a 15.104 to 16.049 cm3·mol-1 and 0.844 to 0.925 oxygen molar volume, and optical basicity increase, respectively. Mechanical properties showed slight improvements, with Young's, shear, and longitudinal moduli increasing marginally. A 2.764 to 2.730 eV band gap energy decrease was observed, alongside a modest rise in refractive index and dielectric constants. The radiation shielding properties were enhanced by higher Bi2O3 and ZnO contents, as evidenced by increased linear attenuation coefficients (LAC) and radiation protection efficiencies (RPE), confirming the material's improved attenuation capability.