Bismuth Substitution’s Influence on the Structural, Optical, Dielectric, and Radiation‐Shielding Properties of the Borosilicate Glass System

The melt‐quenching process was applied to create new sets of glass made of 70 B 2 O 3 ‐5SiO 2 ‐10Li 2 O‐(5‐ x )PbO‐10ZnO‐ x Bi 2 O 3 , where x  = 0.0 : 5 mol%. The glassy behavior is shown by the X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses. For each sample, x is the quantity of bismuth oxide (Bi) 2 O 3 , and the code for those samples is Bi‐ x . By replacing lead oxide with Bi 2 O 3 , nonbridging [BO 3 ] groups were produced. The UV region’s reflectance and UV cut‐off wavelengths both raise with Bi 2 O 3 replacement. In low‐frequency zones up to 600 Hz, research glasses show a notable reduction in dielectric constant (ɛ′) with increasing frequency, while, at higher frequencies, it seems to be almost constant. Ɛ ′ significantly decreases when bismuth is used in sample Bi‐5 in place of lead Bi‐5.0 had the largest effective atomic numbers ( Z eff ) among all of the energies mentioned, while Bi‐0.0 had the lowest. The Bi‐5.0 sample’s exposure buildup factors (EBFs) at 1 MeV were 1.673, 4.541, 8.604, 18.293, and 28.597 at 1, 5, 10, 15, and 30 mfp, in that order. The corresponding fast neutron removal cross‐section (FNRC, cm −1 ) for Bi‐0.0, Bi‐1.0, Bi‐2.0, Bi‐3.0, Bi‐4.0, and Bi‐5.0 were 0.0925, 0.09345, 0.09345, 0.09504, 0.09502, and 0.09471 cm −1 . A glass system is recommended as a photon attenuation shielding material.