Investigation of a competent non-toxic Bi2O3−Li2O−CeO2−MoO3−B2O3 glass system for nuclear radiation security applications

doi:10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2020.120235

Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids

Volume 545, 1 October 2020, 120235

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2020.120235 Get rights and content

Highlights

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Melt quenching route was used to synthesize glass samples.
•
Reported glass system has the potential for shielding from nuclear radiations.
•
Bismuth oxide improves durability of the samples.

Abstract

Widespread commercialisation of nuclear radiation facilities in several areas mandates proper shielding design against harmful Gamma-rays, neutrons and charged particles. It is also necessary to eliminate highly toxic lead from shield material. Keeping these things in mind, the authors have prepared a Bi₂O₃ modified Li₂O single bond CeO₂−MoO₃–B₂O₃ glass system by melt-quenching technique. The glass structure was probed from X-Ray Diffraction, Raman, Infrared and UV–Visible spectroscopy studies. The studied glass consists of BO₃, BO₄, BiO₆ and MoO₄²⁻ units. Gamma-ray shielding properties were studied both experimentally and theoretically. Exposure Buildup factor and neutron and charged particle (electrons, protons and Alpha particles) shielding properties were also investigated. It was found that our glass system can shield not only Gamma-rays but neutrons and charged particles too. It can, hence, be potentially useful for security applications in nuclear facilities especially in nuclear reactors.

Introduction

Shielding from charged particles in addition to the Gamma-rays and neutrons is an area of emerging research interest. This is because of growing usage of radiation in several fields including PET (Positron Emission Tomography), medical radiotherapy units, radiation waste storage containers, hadron beam therapy, space shielding, fluoroscopy, food industry, security devices, cardiac catheterization and computed tomography. Various materials have been reported to have good Gamma ray attenuation properties, yet they are ineffective against neutrons and moreover, their data for charged particles is unavailable [1,2].

In search of cleaner energy sources owing to their ever growing usage and predicted depreciation of fossil fuels in future, nuclear energy has attracted the scientific community. According to IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), the number of operational nuclear power plants in world (as of 31 December 2018) are 451 with total net capacity of 396,911 MW and 55 reactors were under construction. During 2018, 9 reactors were newly connected to the grid [3]. And, 4 reactors were connected to the grid during 2019, as of 31 July 2019 [4]. The usage of radiation facilities (especially medical) is unavoidable. But, the events such as excessive radioactive exposure, radiation leakage, nuclear accidents (for example, Fukushima Daiichi, Three Mile Island and Chernobyl disaster) make the requirement of proper nuclear radiation security as a primary matter of concern. In most of the radiation facilities, the radiation sources are separated from imaging systems. The radiation workers operate from a control room and stand behind a radiation shielded window [5].

The commonly used concretes have limitations because of radiation leakage due to crack formation, moisture content and opacity [6]. The lead based materials (bricks, blankets, glasses) have many toxic effects. Lead free glasses containing both high and low Z elements are amongst the new generation materials having several advantages including transparency, portability and non-toxic nature apart from their shielding ability. Hence, the present study is focused on exploring a borate-based shield material due to their wide glass forming region, high transparency and additional neutron shielding properties [7]. The melting temperature of borate glasses is less as compared to silicate glasses. The low processing temperature involved also lowers the processing cost. Incorporation of heavy metal bismuth provides good Gamma-ray shielding properties [6] because it has high mass attenuation coefficient due to its high atomic number. Lithium oxide is added due to its good neutron shielding properties [8] because it contains lighter element and it has higher neutron mass removal cross-section. B₂O₃ has been used in this work because it acts as glass former. The Gamma radiation resistance of the glasses can be improved by CeO₂ addition [9] due to its existence in polyvalent states. The presence of transition metal oxides MoO₃ can modify the properties of the borate glasses and decrease their melting temperatures [10]. In this current study, Bi₂O₃ modified Li₂O single bond CeO₂−MoO₃–B₂O₃ glass system has been prepared and explored for nuclear radiation security applications. An extensive study of their structural properties, chemical durability, Exposure Buildup Factor (EBF) and Gamma-rays, neutrons and charged particle (electrons, protons and Alpha) shielding properties have been undertaken. There have been extensive studies reported for mass attenuation coefficients of Gamma-rays for Bismuth glasses but very few studies have been reported on Bismuth glasses for shielding against fast neutrons. Structural properties using FTIR, Raman and UV–visible spectra of several bismuth based glasses have been discussed in literature. But, this work reports the effect of Bi₂O₃ on Li₂O single bond CeO₂−MoO₃–B₂O₃ glass structure. And to the best of our knowledge, the structural studies of Bi₂O₃–Li₂OCeO₂−MoO₃–B₂O₃ glass system have not been reported so far in the literature. As Bi₂O₃ is speculated to affect the structure of a glass system, therefore, it becomes imperative to study the structural properties. These studies may provide a competitive candidate for nuclear radiation security for practical applications.

Section snippets

Sample preparation

Glass samples according to the compositional formula xBi₂O₃.10Li₂O.0.3CeO₂.9.7MoO₃.(80-x)B₂O₃ where x = 0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 wt% (Table 1) were synthesized by the melt quenching route. AR grade reagents of Bi₂O₃ (CDH, India, 99%), Li₂O (CDH, India, 98.5%), CeO₂ (Aldrich, 99.9%), MoO₃ (Aldrich, 99.9%) and H₃BO₃ (CDH, India, 99.5%) were used as raw materials and their stoichiometric amounts were taken and mixed well for a batch of 15 g. Further, the mixture was melted in an electric furnace at

X-Ray diffraction

The X-Ray diffraction patterns of the prepared samples show a broad amorphous hump located at 2θ ~ 28° which is characteristic of its amorphous nature (as shown in Fig. 1). It provides a confirmation of the glassy state of the prepared samples.

Density measurements and related parameters

The density of H1 (0 wt% Bi₂O₃) glass sample was found to be 2.33 ± 0.01 g/cm³ and it increased with the gradual addition of Bi₂O₃ content up to 5.39 ± 0.01 g/cm³ for H5 (60 wt% Bi₂O₃) glass sample (See Table 1). This increase in density is due to the

Conclusions

The Bi₂O₃-Li₂O single bond CeO₂−MoO₃–B₂O₃ glass system has been successfully prepared by the authors using melt quenching technique. Many different structural units viz. BO₃, BO₄, BiO₆ and MoO₄²⁻ units were probed in the glass system. Bi₂O₃ is acting as a modifier in the glass system. The Gamma-ray shielding ability is improving with the addition of Bi₂O₃. Glasses H3–H5 are better than barite concrete and H4, H5 are better than the commercial shielding glass RS 360. The neutron shielding ability is also

Author contribution

The authors and their roles in this manuscript are listed below:

Parminder Kaur: Methodology, Conceptualization, Investigation and Writing-Original Draft

K.J. Singh: Writing-Review, Editing, Resources, Analysis, Validation & Supervision

Sonika Thakur: Analysis, Discussion and Software

Murat Kurudirek: Software and Resources

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgements

One of the authors, Parminder Kaur, is very grateful to CSIR, New Delhi, India for providing financial support in the form of SRF [File No. 09/254(0290)/2019-EMR-I] and also to the Instrumentation Centre of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, for providing the requisite instruments for study.

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Citation Excerpt :
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Investigation of a competent non-toxic Bi2O3−Li2O−CeO2−MoO3−B2O3 glass system for nuclear radiation security applications

Highlights

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Sample preparation

X-Ray diffraction

Density measurements and related parameters

Conclusions

Author contribution

Declaration of Competing Interest

Acknowledgements

Ann. Nucl. Energy

Ceram. Int.

Spectrochim. Acta Part A

Mater. Chem. Phys.

Spectrochim. Acta Part A

J. Non-Cryst. Solids

J. Alloys Compd

J. Solid State Chem

J. Non-Cryst. Solids

Radiat. Phys. Chem.

Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. B

J. Alloys Compd

J. Non-Cryst. Solids

J. Non-Cryst. Solids

J. Non-Cryst. Solids

J. Phys. Chem. Solids

J. Non-Cryst. Solids

J. Non-Cryst. Solids

Results Phys

J. Non-Cryst. Solids

Ann. Nucl. Energy

J. Alloys Compd

Nucl. Eng. Des.

Investigation of a competent non-toxic Bi₂O₃−Li₂O−CeO₂−MoO₃−B₂O₃ glass system for nuclear radiation security applications