A simulation and theoretical analysis of the Gd2O3 content effect on the gamma, neutron and charged particle attenuation characteristics of Ce3+-doped gadolinium borosilicate glasses

Abstract

In the discipline of radiation shielding, doped glasses represent a particularly noteworthy category of candidate materials. Here the objective is to investigate the shielding characteristics of cerium-doped (Ce3+-doped) glasses with respect to charged particles, gamma rays, and neutrons. The glasses are composed of 100-x(SiO2-B2O3-GdF3)-xGd2O3-1CeF3, where x is a variable ranging from 0 to 30 by labeled as G1, G2, G3, G4 and G5 for x = 0, 5, 10, 20, 30 mol%, respectively. In this connection, the radiation protection properties are evaluated using PHITS Monte Carlo code and the Phy-X/PSD, ESTAR, SRIM and PAGEX codes over a large energy scale. The findings are compared in a comprehensive and comparative manner. It is observed that the shielding efficiencies for charged particles (proton, alpha and electron), gamma rays and neutrons are proportional to the cerium content. The glasses with a higher amount of gadolinium (Gd) present superior protective capabilities. It is asserted that the examined glasses could be employed as shielding materials in a multitude of applications related to radiation. Also, the glass density, the atomic distances between Gd-Gd and Gd-Ce and the analysis of bonding formation process of Ce3+-doped gadolinium borosilicate glass are investigated by molecular dynamics (MD) calculations based on extended density functional tight-binding method. The simulation findings and molecular orbital interactions are in good agreement with experimental results and the interaction of Gd-Gd and Gd-Ce bond within very short time even at the highest concentration of Gd2O3 (G5) offer to understand the glass scintillators (GS) and shielding properties for radiation applications.