Mass attenuation coefficients and effective atomic numbers in phosphate glass containing Bi2O3, PbO and BaO at 662 keV

In this work, the mass attenuation coefficients, partial interactions and the effective atomic numbers (Zeff) of Bi2O3, PbO and BaO in xRmOn:(100−x)P2O5 (where x=30≤x≤70 (% by weight)) glass system have been investigated on the basis of the mixture rule at 662 keV. The total and partial interactions were calculated by WinXCom software. It has been found that the total mass attenuation coefficients of glasses increase with increasing Bi2O3 and PbO concentrations, due to the increasing photoelectric absorption in glass samples. However, Compton scattering gives dominant contribution to the total mass attenuation coefficients for the studied glass samples. The Zeff increases with increase in Bi2O3, PbO and BaO concentrations. For comparison, the Zeff of PbO glasses are comparable to that of Bi2O3 glasses and Zeff of both glasses are greater than BaO glasses. These results are very useful for designing radiation shielding glass and reflecting the influence of bismuth, barium, and lead content in radiation shielding phosphate glass. Besides the mentioned usefulness of the new materials, development of lead-free radiation protecting glass also leaves non-toxic impact on our environment.