Tailoring the gamma-ray shielding performance of zinc-tellurite glasses via metal oxide substitution.
SUMARRIVA, Flavio Sergio Angulo; RICALDI, José Yitzhak Aarón Chacaliaza; CALDERÓN, Gaston Lozano; HUAMAN, Jose Luis Clabel; PIMENTA, Ana Clara Sampaio; MEJÍA, B.; MAREGA JUNIOR, Euclydes; RIVERA, Victor Anthony Garcia.
SUMARRIVA, Flavio Sergio Angulo; RICALDI, José Yitzhak Aarón Chacaliaza; CALDERÓN, Gaston Lozano; HUAMAN, Jose Luis Clabel; PIMENTA, Ana Clara Sampaio; MEJÍA, B.; MAREGA JUNIOR, Euclydes; RIVERA, Victor Anthony Garcia.
Abstract: Tellurite-based glasses have emerged as promising candidates due to their favorable structural and optical properties. However, their shielding performance is susceptible to compositional variations. This research investigates the incorporation of various metal oxides, specifically GeO2, TiO2, WO3, and Nb2O5, to enhance the shielding properties of zinc-tellurite glasses. The work aimed to elucidate the relationship between the structural features of the glasses and their functional properties, specifically optical behavior and gamma-ray attenuation performance. Such performance was evaluated computationally over a broad energy range (0.015-15 MeV) using the Geant4 toolkit and validated against XCOM data. Raman spectroscopy showed that GeO2 promoted a more polymerized network, while Nb2O5, WO3, and TiO2 increased non-bridging oxygen content, inversely affecting the optical bandgap. WO3-modified glass exhibited the highest density and superior shielding performance, evidenced by the highest mass attenuation coefficients and effective atomic numbers across the entire energy spectrum, alongside the lowest half-value layers and mean free paths. These findings highlight metal oxide selection as a key strategy for tailoring zinc-tellurite glasses, not only to surpass the shielding performance of conventional concrete but also to enable the design of advanced, lead-free, and transparent materials for next-generation radiation shielding and photonic devices.
@article={003276349,author = {SUMARRIVA, Flavio Sergio Angulo; RICALDI, José Yitzhak Aarón Chacaliaza; CALDERÓN, Gaston Lozano; HUAMAN, Jose Luis Clabel; PIMENTA, Ana Clara Sampaio; MEJÍA, B.; MAREGA JUNIOR, Euclydes; RIVERA, Victor Anthony Garcia.},title={Tailoring the gamma-ray shielding performance of zinc-tellurite glasses via metal oxide substitution},journal={Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids},note={v. 670, p. 123835-1-123835-12},year={2025}}