Opto-mechanical synthesis and radiation protection of environmentally friendly Nd2O3-doped Ba-Ga-Al-B glasses

A new Ba-borate glass doped with Nd2O3 was synthesized based on the BaO-Ga2O3-Al2O3-B2O3 composition. Al2O3 is partially replaced by Nd2O3 with 0, 0.5, 1, and 2 (mol%) concentrations. Glass samples were manufactured via traditional melting methods and were characterized based on XRD reflections, Archimedes' density principle, UV-Vis spectrum, Makishima-Mackenzie's principle, and the free Phy-X/PSD-soft programmed. The produced samples are visibly clear and transparent, with an amorphous nature. The measured density ranged from 3.31 to 3.49 g/cm3, while molar volume was decreased with Nd2O3/Al2O3 substitution. Additionally, the OPD values ranged from 65.366 to 65.789 g atom/l, and the V0 values ranged from 15.298 to 15.200 cc/mol, introducing an inverse relationship. The results indicated that adding neodymium instead of alumina results in a very slight decrease in all calculated elastic moduli and their related parameters. The optical band gap (Eg) value was decreased with the introduction of Nd2O3 while the index of refraction (n) and the width of localized state (EUr) values have been increased. This would be expected due to the Eg is inversely proportion to the n and E Ur values. Furthermore, the refraction loss (RL) molar refraction (Rm), and molar polarizability (alpha m ) have been estimated. The findings obtained provided useful information regarding the radiation-shielding properties of the glasses under investigation. Additionally, they provide strong support for contemporary ideas of glass's structure and properties, which help create novel glass materials and their uses in radiation shielding.