Structural and mechanical properties, nuclear shielding and albedo parameters of the B2O3-TeO2–Li2O–CuO-Sb2O3 glass system

In the present work, role of Sb2O3 in structural, mechanical, gamma and neutron shielding properties of (68-x)B2O3-20TeO2-10Li2O-2CuO-xSb2O3 (x = 0, 3, 5, 8 and 10 mol, %) borotellurite glasses was studied. The glasses were synthesized via the melt quenching technique, structural attributes were examined including FT-IR, UV-Vis, EPR, and XRD. FT-IR spectra confirmed that Sb2O3 acts as a network modifier, disrupting the glass matrix structure. UV-Vis absorption data showed systematic shifts with increasing Sb2O3 content, corroborating the FT-IR findings. The addition of Sb2O3 improves fracture toughness, increasing from 1.764 MPa m1/2 (BTLC-0) to 1.968 MPa m1/2 (BTLC-10). As a result, the glass becomes more resistant to crack propagation and mechanical failure. Furthermore, the optimized Sb2O3 content contributes to better network stability by increasing atomic packing density at lower concentrations. This improvement positively affects both the elastic properties and the overall structural integrity of the glass. The slight and irregular fluctuations in the parameter (Formula presented) signify the degree of tetragonal distortion of the octahedral configuration around the Cu2+ ions. The gamma shielding properties of the prepared glass systems were experimentally measured in the energy range of 80.99–383.85 keV. The parameters evaluated included mass attenuation coefficients, mean free path, half-value layer, and effective atomic numbers. The albedo parameters are measured with 59.54 keV photons in backscattering geometry. Also, the radiation shielding parameters were theoretically calculated. The neutron equivalent dose rates were measured by an 241Am-Be fast neutron source. Fast neutron removal cross section was theoretically calculated. The mass stopping power and projected range parameters for the proton and alpha particles of glasses were calculated. The HVL values at 302.85 keV are 2.07 cm, 1.85 cm and 1.50 cm for BTLC-0, BTLC-5 and BTLC-10, respectively. It was observed that Sb2O3 content increases the gamma and neutron shielding abilities in borotellurite glass.