Eur. Phys. J. Plus (2021) 136: 947
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-021-01948-1

Regular Article

A new focus on the role of iron oxide in enhancing the structure and shielding properties of Ag₂O–P₂O₅ glasses

¹ Glass Research Group, Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, 35516, Mansoura, Egypt
² University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China
³ Higher Technological Institute, 228, 10th of Ramadan City, Egypt

^a ahmed.adel2244@gmail.com, ahmed_adel2244@mans.edu.eg

Received: 6 June 2021
Accepted: 6 September 2021
Published online: 15 September 2021

Abstract

Fast quenching was used to create glasses in the xFe₂O₃·(40x)Ag₂O·60P₂O₅ system (0 ≤ x ≤ 20 mol%). Fourier transform infrared spectrum (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to investigate the structure of the glasses. A gradual increase in Fe₂O₃ content leads to an increase in P–O–Fe bonds, which increases the durability of the glass structure. The Hardness number (Hv) of the investigated glasses increases with increasing Fe₂O₃ content. The measured density decreases, and the calculated molar volume increases with increasing iron oxide concentrations. The mass attenuation coefficient was calculated using the WinXCOM program after being measured experimentally. The experimental and theoretical values are in good agreement. The gamma-ray shielding parameter HVL was calculated to understand the radiation shielding performances of the investigated glasses. The results show that as the Fe₂O₃ content increases, the mass attenuation coefficient (μm) decreases. The glass with the lowest HVL values contains 5 mol% Fe₂O₃.