Exploring the potential of BBNCo glasses: Physical, optical, and radiation shielding analysis

The ability of new Co3O4-doped bismuth borate glasses to block radiation was investigated in this study. The glasses had compositions of 55B2O3–35Bi2O3-(10-x)Na2O-xCo3O4 (where x = 0, 0.75, 1.5, 2.25, and 3 wt%). The optical properties of the prepared bismuth borate glass doped with Co3O4 ions have been studied. The UV demonstrates that as the Co3O4 substitution ratio was increased, the samples' absorbance increased noticeably. The optical band gap energies decreased with increasing Co3O4 concentration in the case of direct transition and in-direct transition. In addition to the Urbach energy EU values of the prepared glass samples was decreased as the concentration of Co3O4 ions increased. Using the Phy-X/PSD program, an investigation was conducted on the gamma-radiation shielding capabilities of new BBNCo glasses. The GLAC (linear attenuation coefficient) readings for BBNCo increased from a previous value of 0.7575 cm2/g to a new value of 0.8589 cm2/g when the energy was 356 keV. In addition, computations have been made to determine the removal cross-sections of fast neutrons and the neutron half value layer (NHVL). The addition of Co3O4 seems to increase the efficiency of bismuth borate glass in deflecting gamma and neutron radiation, as shown by the findings.