Exploring the impact of PbO/CdO composition on the structural, optical, and gamma ray shielding properties of dense PbO–TeO2–CdO glasses

Abstract

Through the melt-quenching process, thick, transparent, and light yellow PbO–TeO2–CdO glasses were fabricated, with sample densities ranging from 5.576 to 6.082 g/cm3. X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra showed that the material was amorphous, while Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra demonstrated multiple bond stretching modes and vibrational frequencies. With an increase in the mol% of PbO concentration, the derivative of absorption spectra fitting (DASF) method showed a reduction in the bandgap energies to 3.520 eV, 3.457 eV, 3.433 eV, and 3.394 eV for Pb70, Pb72.5, Pb75, and Pb77.5, respectively. For the Pb70 and Pb77.5 glasses, the transmission factor (TF) decreased with thickness. The Pb77.5 glass had the highest radiation protection efficiency (RPE), with an RPE range of 66–70% for a thickness of 1.25 cm. Moreover, the addition of PbO improved the transparency, density, and gamma-ray shielding abilities of the glasses.