Investigation of the Structural, Elastic, and Radiation Shielding Properties of the SiO₂ –Pb₃O₄–ZnO –Y₂O₃ Glass System

This work examined the SiO₂–Pb₃O₄–ZnO–Y₂O₃ glasses mechanical, structural, and radiation shielding features. X-ray diffraction is a powerful technique for investigating the structural properties of these glasses. Experimental results were used to evaluate the mechanical characteristics, and the Makishima and Mackenzie model's semi-empirical approaches were used to investigate the elastic properties. Longitudinal velocity V_L increase from 4935 m/s to 5325 m/s, while transverse velocity V_T increase from 2520 m/s to 2905 m/s. Hardness improved from 4.41 to 8.31 GPa. The behaviour of the elastic moduli at both theoretical and experimental levels is the same. The mass attenuation coefficients (MAC), mean free paths (MFP), tenth & half-value layers (TVL), (HVL), and energy building factors (EBF) were estimated. Overall, higher MAC values were produced by a decrease in ZnO concentration and an increase in Y₂O₃ content. As the concentration of Y₂O₃ increases, the MFP, TVL, and HVL values decrease. Better radiation shielding is provided by lower MFP, TVL, and HVL values. The MFP, TVL, and HVL values are lower in the G 5 sample with the Y₂O₃ contribution (5%, mole). Higher concentrations of Y₂O₃ in glasses with a SiO₂-Pb₃O₄-ZnO-composition were shown to have improved radiation shielding properties.