Properties of Gamma Ray Shielding Ho/Nd Codoped Tellurite Glasses

The more applications involving gamma radiation, the more protection and prevention are needed to avoid its negative impact. Glass as gamma radiation shielding is widely developed. In this study, tellurite glasses were prepared using composition 70TeO2 - (15-x)ZnO - 10Bi2O3 - 3Na2CO3 - 2Ho2O3 - x Nd2O3 (with x = 0, 1, 2, 3 mol%). These glasses were fabricated by the standard melt-quenching approach. The effect substitution of Nd2O3 on tellurite glasses was discussed in terms of physical (Density and Molar Volume (Vm)) and gamma radiation shielding properties. With the addition of Nd2O3 concentration, the density of tellurite glasses increases from 6.17 to 6.25 g/cm3 due to the higher molecular weight of Nd2O3. The gamma-ray shielding properties were investigated by simulating through the Phy-X PSD program within the energy range from 10-3 to 105 MeV. The results show tellurite glass with 3 mol% of Nd2O3 provides the highest Mass Attenuation Coefficient (MAC). Moreover, at energy 1 MeV the Mean Free Path (MFP) and Half Value Layer (HVL) values were 2.586 cm and 1.793 cm. It was found that adding Nd2O3 reduces the MFP and HVL values of tellurite glasses. Based on the analysis, it can be determined that Ho/Nd codoped tellurite glass with 3 mol% of Nd2O3 is the most suitable glass for gamma-ray shielding application.