A closer look at the impacts of MnO2 on the optical, mechanical, and radiation shielding properties of the B2O3–BaF2–Li2O glass system of 40B2O3 + (40-x) BaF2 + 5MgO + 15Li2O + xMnO2

We aimed in this investigation to outline the replacement effect of BaF2 by MnO2 compound in borate-based glasses. The newly fabricated borate glass was manufactured using the traditional melting quenching technique. The phase state of the glasses was affirmed by the XRD. Furthermore, optical properties were calculated based on the measured absorbance in the wavelength interval between 200 and 300 nm. According to the obtained data, the refractive index of the present glasses at a wavelength of 700 nm was enhanced from 3.848 to 4.987 when the MnO insertion ratio increased between 0 and 4 mol%. The radiation shielding performance was also enhanced with the partial replacement of BaF2 by MnO2 in the present samples. The shielding parameter evaluation was performed using the Monte Carlo simulation in the intermediate energy interval between 0.244 and 2.506 MeV. For example, at 0.662 MeV, the linear attenuation coefficient increased from 0.266 to 0.270 cm−1 associated with raising the MnO2 between 0 and 4 mol%, respectively.