Enhancement of Gamma-ray Shielding Properties in Cobalt-Doped Heavy Metal Borate Glasses: The Role of Lanthanum Oxide Reinforcement

The direct influence of La(3+) ions on the gamma-ray shielding properties of cobalt-doped heavy metal borate glasses with the chemical formula 0.3CoO-(80-x)B(2)O(3)-19.7PbO-xLa(2)O(3): x = 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 mol% was examined herein. Several significant radiation shielding parameters were evaluated. The glass density was increased from 3.11 to 3.36 g/cm(3) with increasing La(3+) ion content from 0 to 2 mol%. The S5 glass sample, which contained the highest concentration of La(3+) ions (2 mol%), had the maximum linear (μ) and mass (μ(m)) attenuation coefficients for all photon energies entering, while the S1 glass sample free of La(3+) ions possessed the minimum values of μ and μ(m). Both the half value layer (T(1/2)) and tenth value layer (TVL) of all investigated glasses showed a similar trend of (T(1/2), TVL)(S1) > (T(1/2), TVL)(S2) > (T(1/2), TVL)(S3) > (T(1/2), TVL)(S4) > (T(1/2), TVL)(S5). Our results revealed that the S5 sample had the highest effective atomic number (Z(eff)) values over the whole range of gamma-ray energy. S5 had the lowest exposure (EBF) and energy absorption (EABF) build-up factor values across the whole photon energy and penetration depth range. Our findings give a strong indication of the S5 sample’s superior gamma-ray shielding characteristics due to the highest contribution of lanthanum oxide.