Elastic–mechanical and radiation shielding properties of B2O3–PbO–K2O–manganese (II) oxide glasses

The role of manganese (II) oxide on elastic–mechanical, effective electron density, effective electrical conductivity, the total atomic and electronic cross sections, and radiation shielding buildup factors parameters of the prepared B2O3–PbO–K2O–MnO glasses is investigated. In terms of mass attenuation coefficient (µm), values of (µm) increased with manganese (II) oxide content increased and followed the trend: (Mn5)µm > (Mn4)µm > (Mn3)µm > (Mn2)µm > (Mn1)µm > (Mn0)µm. Half (T1/2) and tenth (value layer (and T1/10) of the proposed glasses have the same trend. The effective atomic (Zeff) and electron (Neff) numbers of the investigated glasses have a similar trend of the µm, i.e., (Mn5)Zeff,Neff > (Mn4)Zeff,Neff > (Mn3)Zeff,Neff > (Mn2)Zeff,Neff > (Mn1)Zeff,Neff > (Mn10)Zeff,Neff. The effective electrical conductivity (Ceff) varied from 3.62 × 109 (S/m) to 3.90 × 109 (S/m) at photon energy 0.015 MeV and from 1.76 × 109 (S/m) to 1.91 × 109 (S/m) at photon energy 15 MeV. The exposure (EBF) and energy absorption (EABF) buildup factor values are increasing as the molar fraction of MnO is increased. Therefore, the addition of the manganese element to the glass mixture makes it more valuable in shielding performance. The calculated values of Poisson’s ratio (σ) are increased from 0.417198 to 0.412746 as the molar fraction of MnO is increased in the sample. Similarly, high Young’s moduli values are found to increase from 19.5 to 22.5 consistence’s with the obtained Poisson’s ratio. Results confirm that the investigated glasses can be used in various radiation shielding fields.