Dielectric and Gamma Ray Shielding Properties of Lead-Doped Lithium–Zinc–Borosilicate Glasses

Lithium–zinc–borosilicate glasses with different lead concentrations were made using the melt-quenching process to examine the effects of B₂O₃/PbO substitution on the structural term shielding and dielectric characteristics of glasses. The density increased and the molar volume decreased with increasing PbO mole percentages. The dielectric properties have been investigated for the frequency range from 50 Hz to 5 MHz. Tangent loss (tan δ) and the dielectric constant (ε′) were reduced as the frequency increased. The dielectric constant (ε′) gradually increased with an increase in PbO content. The essential gamma radiation attenuation features of the glass samples under investigation were investigated using X-COM and Phy-X/PSD computer software programme over a broad energy range of 0.015–15 MeV. Following that, we evaluated the mean free path, effective atomic number, effective electron density, and effective conductivity over the same wide span of energy, and the results showed that the addition of PbO increased the effective atomic number and mass attenuation coefficient while decreasing the mean free path. Furthermore, the investigated glass's efficacy as a neutron shield was assessed using rapid neutron removal cross-sections. Generally, the shielding and dielectric properties of glasses gradually improve as the PbO level increases. PbO-25, which has 25 mol of PbO glass, has been shown to be more effective in preventing the penetration of gamma and neutron radiation.