Investigation of the role of fluorine on fabrication, physio-optical and radiation shielding properties of aluminum barium borate (ABB) glasses containing Er₂O₃

In this work, the role of fluorine on physical, optical and radiation shielding properties of aluminum barium borate (ABB) glasses containing Er₂O₃ has been investigated. Five glasses with nominal compositions of 54.5B₂O₃ + (25-x)BaO + 4Al₂O₃ + 16Na₂O + 0.5Er₂O₃ + xPbF₂ and substitution ratios of x = 0–8 mol% in steps of 2 mol% have been synthesized using the well-known melt quenching route. The density (ρ) increased from 3.2398 to 3.5674 g/cm³, in contrast, the molar volume (V_m) decreased from 28.4534 to 27.9007 cm³/mol as the amount of PbF₂ increases from 0 to 8 mol%. For the direct transition, the values of direct optical band gap ( \({E}_{g}^{Direct}\) $E_g^{\mathit{Direct}}$ ) varied between 3.3696 eV for the PbF0 sample and 3.1203 eV for the PbF8 sample. Moreover, in the case of an indirect transition, the ( \({E}_{g}^{Indirect}\) $E_g^{\mathit{Indirect}}$ ) decreased going from 3.0051 eV for the PbF0 sample to 2.7359 eV for the PbF8 sample. The refractive index was increased from 2.1364 for (PbF0) to 2.9689 eV for (PbF8) samples as the PbF₂ substitution ratio increased. Surface- (SELF) and volume- (VELF) energy loss functions decreased as PbF₂ increased in the glass structure. The mass (MAC)-and linear (LAC)-attenuations coefficient possessed that (MAC and LAC)_PbF8 > (MAC and LAC)_PbF6 > (MAC and LAC)_PbF4 > (MAC and LAC)_PbF2 > (MAC and LAC)_PbF0 as MAC and LAC increased with increase in PbF₂ concentration. Half value layer parameters was in opposite track of MAC and LAC. Results showed that the suggested composition can be applied in optical and radiation shielding fields.