Multifaceted analysis of PbO–Bi2O3–ZnO–B2O3 glasses: unveiling structural, Optical, and gamma-ray shielding behaviour

The fabrication process of PbO–Bi 2 O 3 –ZnO–B 2 O 3 (PBZB) glasses involved the application of a melt quenching technique. The glass samples were revealed through X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis to be amorphous in nature. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, ranging from 4000 to 400 cm −1 , exhibited peaks and bands indicating bending and stretching vibrations associated with the constituent groups in the glasses. The Raman spectra indicated that non-bridging oxygens (NBOs) formed with PbO’s incorporation into the network. To investigate the UV–Vis spectra of the glass, the Derivation of Absorption Spectrum Fitting (DASF) method was employed. This analysis predicted a decrease in energy band gap values, which was attributed to the increased presence of NBOs within the glass network. The prepared glasses’ radiation-shielding properties were reported using Phy-X software in the range of 0.284–1.333 MeV, where it was found that the mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) follows the order of PBZB1