Unveiling the synergistic effect of Cd doping on structural, optical, mechanical, and γ-ray shielding characteristics of zinc lead silicate glass

Using the traditional melt quenching process, the glass series of xCdO-(5-x) ZnO-35Pb3O4-60SiO2, where x = 1–5 mol%, were created. The X-ray diffraction method was utilized to investigate the non-crystallinity of the glasses that were created. The densities of the fabricated glasses increased from 5.91 to 6.655 g/cm³. Electronegativity (ΔX), bond density (nb), and field strength (F) were calculated. ΔX decreased while nb and F increased with the supply of Cd ions. The optical characteristics Eg, n, αo, εr, χ(3), n2, M, T and more have been investigated. We found that a change in cadmium concentration in the fabricated system influenced all the optical parameters. The mechanical properties, including elastic moduli, have been investigated alongside ultrasonic velocity measurements. The experimental results demonstrated a strong dependence of calculated parameters on increasing CdO concentration. The observation indicates an increase in the elastic moduli with the increasing CdO concentration. Radiation shielding factors were estimated using EpiXS program. μL, HVL, MFP, Zeff, Neff, EBF and EABF for gamma energy between 15 and 15,000 KeV have been investigated. The results indicate that these parameters are affected by the introduction of CdO content into the glass network. The sample ZPSCd5 exhibits the highest radiation shielding parameters among the studied glass samples. •CdO- ZnO-Pb3O4-SiO2 glasses were manufactured.•Density ρ value increases from 5.91 to 6.655 g/cm³.•Characterization of mechanical properties performed experimentally.•Radiation shielding factors were estimated using EpiXS program.•All the obtained results have been linked to each other.