Title: Glass materials for gamma radiation shielding in medical applications

Abstract

I n several applications of radiation sources there is a need of have a direct view, instead of using remote vision, for example in hospital and clinics with X-ray units or gamma radiation. Lithium tetraborate (Li2B4O7) glass matrices doped with six transition metals: Ag, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, and Zn were synthesized, using the melt-quenching method. Radiation shielding and optical parameters are studied in this work. Absorption spectra of the samples show the characteristic surface-plasmon bands of these transition-metals nanoparticles. The fluorescence bands of each transition-metal nanoparticle ensembles in the tetraborate glass matrices are identified by recording the fluorescence spectrum. Fluorescence analysis shows the characteristic emission of the transition metals mentioned and their enhancement is explained. The theoretical values of radiation shielding parameters mass attenuation coefficient (MAC), half value layer (HVL), tenth value layer (TVL), mean free path (MFP) and effective atomic number (Zeff) were calculated for the glass samples from 0.015 to 15 MeV using the Phy-X program to analyze which sample has the best radiation shielding response. It should be noted that the samples made in this work present a better response than high-performance heavyweight concrete mixes using the coarse aggregates of magnetite.