Synthesis, Physical, Optical Characteristics and Ionizing Radiation Resistance of Newly Boro-Bariofluoride/Sodium/Calcium/Nickel Glasses: B2O3·BaF2·CaO·Na2O·NiO

A novel boro-bariofluoride/sodium/calcium/nickel glasses with chemical compositions (40-x)B 2 O 3 ·30BaF 2 ·15CaO·15Na 2 O·xNiO, where x = 0.0 (Ni0.0)–1.5 (Ni1.5) in steps of 0.3 mol% were prepared using the conventional melt quenching technique. Physical and optical features as well as ionizing radiation resistance capacities of the synthesized glass have been examined using various characterization techniques. Radiation shielding abilities have been examined via Phy-X/PSD software. Amorphous state of the Ni-glasses was confirmed by XRD data. Addition of NiO increased the density of glasses from 3.53 to 3.80 g/cm 3 . The direct optical band gap ( E Direct Optical ) was reduced from 3.58 to 3.33 eV, while the indirect ( E Indirect Optical ) one was reduced from 3.08 to 2.84 eV. Urbach’s edge (E U ) was enhanced from 0.4197 to 0.5009 eV as NiO content increased from 0.0 to 1.5 mol%. At a certain wavelength λ = 500 nm, the values of refractive index (n) increased from 1.84 to 2.56. In the photon energy range (0.15–15 MeV), the mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) results had the following trend: (MAC) Ni0.0 (HVL) Ni1.5 . The effective atomic number (Z eff ) of the prepared Ni-glasses has the same trend of MAC and LAC shielding parameters. The Ni-glasses can be applied in optical areas and considered as superior light glasses for radiation shielding applications.