Dielectric, structural, optical and radiation shielding properties of newly synthesized CaO–SiO2–Na2O–Al2O3 glasses: experimental and theoretical investigations on impact of Tungsten(III) oxide

Abstract

Through experimental and modeling techniques, this research sought to investigate the reflections of partial replacement of CaO–SiO2 with Tungsten(III) oxide and its effect on structural, optical, and physical properties. The melt quenching technique was used to produce several glass samples with a nominal composition of 5Na2O–10Al2O3–(42.5 − x)SiO2–(42.5 − x)CaO–xWO3 system (where x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 wt.&). The amorphous structure of calcium-silicon glasses was determined experimentally using the XRD technique. UV and density studies were also performed to determine optical and material properties. To determine the effect of this replacement on nuclear radiation shielding improvement, the linear attenuation coefficient was computed across a broad energy range of 0.015–15 MeV using narrow beam geometry and the simulated gamma-ray transmission technique. The radiation parameters were simulated using sophisticated Monte Carlo simulations using the FLUKA general-purpose radiation transport algorithm and compared using the NIST XCOm theoretical computation. To maximize the substitution's synergistic impact, the present investigation's findings were correlated with each other for the purpose of determining availability for nuclear shielding purposes. It was discovered that when the WO3 content rises from 0 to 20% wt— percent, both direct and indirect bandgaps reduce, resulting in increased transparency. In addition, the Urbach energy (Eu) yields a rise in proportion to the amount of doping elements in the samples. On the other hand, gamma-ray attenuation measurements revealed that shielding parameters are directly proportional to the WO3-wt percent concentration; furthermore, the addition of WO3 substantially enhances the shielding capacity of the investigated glasses against gamma radiation. It is observed that when additional WO3 is added, both the real and imaginary components of the dielectric constant increase. The most effective shield was determined to be the NSCW20 sample. As a result, a WO3-calcium-silicon glass containing 20% WO3 was selected as the optimum radiation filter. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH, DE part of Springer Nature.