Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3
Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10904-022-02345-6
Efect of Fe
2
O
3
as an Aggregate Replacement on Mechanical,
and Gamma/ Neutron Radiation Shielding Properties
of Phosphoaluminate Glasses
A. A. El‑Maaref
1
· B. M. Alotaibi
2
· Nuha Alharbi
3
· A. F. Abd El‑Rehim
4,5
· Kh. S. Shaaban
6
Received: 11 March 2022 / Accepted: 6 April 2022
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2022
Abstract
In the present work, we examined the impact of Fe
2
O
3
on the mechanical and photon shielding characteristics of lead-
phosphoaluminate glasses. Due to water corrosion, the use of lead-phosphosilicate glasses may be limited.The addition of
Fe
2
O
3
signifcantly improves its water resistance. The radiation and mechanical of 20PbO – 45P
2
O
5
− 15 Al
2
O
3
– ( 20 - x )
Na
2
O- x Fe
2
O
3
glass system doped with xFe
2
O
3
refect the originality of this article. The molar volume of these samples is
declining whereas the density is an increment. Ultrasonic velocity and elastic modulus were found to be enhanced. The
shielding parameters were established using the Phy-X / PSD. The mace attenuation coefcient is the highest in the sample
with the maximum Fe
2
O
3
content. The (Z
ef
) and (N
ef
) values decreased and then increased slowly at lower energy. Because
of the Compton scattering interaction, the (Zeq)-value decreases as the energy and Fe
2
O
3
content increase. Small deviations
from the glass samples are observed at higher energy levels to decrease the value (ΣR). Finally, the increment of Fe
2
O
3
in
prepared glasses increases the γ-radiation & neutronattenuation rate.
Keywords Phosphoaluminate · Elastic modulus · Shielding · Neutron
1 Introduction
Glass is an amorphous material that melts without crys-
tallizing. High-manufacture phosphate glasses are used
intended for numerous confgurations [1–7]. The features
of iron-phosphosilicate mixed glass networks are diferent
from those of single glass networks [8–16]. There are sev-
eral physical-chemical features of the transition metal ions
(TMIs) doped phosphosilicate glasses that lead to a wide
range of discussions of those samples in material knowl-
edge. In detail, transition metal oxides (TMO) are widely
perceived in phosphate glasses that are used to improve
their chemical resistance. Fe
2
O
3
and PbO are important ele-
ments because of their physical and mechanical character-
istics. Fe
2
O
3
and PbO glasses have specifc characteristics
as a result of their mechanical and radiation applications
[17–24].
Iron alkaline phosphosilicate glasses have signifcant
scientifc and technological advancements. The structural
benefts involved with the existence of PO
4
are responsible
for this signifcance. Besides phosphate glass, the presence
of TMIs, for example, Fe
2
O
3
and PbO can provide new pos-
sibilities to extend these glasses’ features. Heavy metal oxide
doped glasses as PbO exhibition these glasses are highly
optical, and mechanical because they act as a former and
modifer. The presence of TMIs, such as Fe
2
O
3
and PbO,
in phosphosilicate glasses, can provide novel potentials for
extending the features of these glasses [17–23].
* A. A. El-Maaref
aauelmaaref@ju.edu.sa
1
Physics Department, College of Science, Jouf University,
P.O. Box 2014, Skaka, Saudi Arabia
2
Physics Department, College of Science, Princess
Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428,
11671 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
3
Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Umm Al-Qura
University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
4
Physics Department, Faculty of Science, King Khalid
University, P.O. Box 9004, 61413 Abha, Saudi Arabia
5
Physics Department, Faculty of Education, Ain shams
University, P.O. Box 5010, 11771 Heliopolis, Roxy, Cairo,
Egypt
6
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Al - Azhar
University, P.O. 71452, Assiut, Egypt