Determination of variation of compositions of (1-х)ZnO-0.25Al2O3-0.25WO3-хBi2O3 glass-like ceramics on protective characteristics in gamma radiation shielding

Abstract

The work is devoted to the study of the effect of variation of the ratio of oxides in the composition of (1-х)ZnO-0.25Al₂O₃-0.25WO₃-хBi₂O₃ glass-like ceramics on shielding characteristics when employed as materials to mitigate the adverse effects of gamma radiation with different energy. The primary incentive behind these investigations is to discover novel protective shielding materials that lack lead or its oxide forms yet possess high shielding efficiency. Additionally, the aim is to identify the most promising compositions for potential practical applications in shielding. During the studies of shielding characteristics, it was observed that partial replacement of zinc oxide with bismuth oxide leads to a pronounced increase in shielding for low-energy gamma rays, for which, according to the data obtained, an increase in the concentration of bismuth oxide leads to an increase in the linear and mass coefficient by more than 0.8 – 1.2 times.  An analysis of the influence of variations in the ratio of zinc and bismuth oxides in the composition of glass-like ceramics on the shielding characteristics revealed that the replacement of zinc oxide with bismuth oxide, leading to an elevation in density of the order of 10 – 15 %, leads to a steep rise in the shielding efficiency for low-energy gamma rays (more than 120 %), and to a 15 – 17 % growth in shielding efficiency in the case of gamma-quanta shielding for which the main interaction mechanisms are the Compton effect and the formation of electron-positron pairs.

Keywords: shielding materials, ionizing radiation, glass-like ceramics, absorption efficiency, oxide materials, gamma radiation.