Ceramics International xxx (xxxx) xxx Please cite this article as: Hesham M.H. Zakaly, Ceramics International, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2020.10.143 Available online 21 October 2020 0272-8842/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved. Alteration of optical, structural, mechanical durability and nuclear radiation attenuation properties of barium borosilicate glasses through BaO reinforcement: Experimental and numerical analyses Hesham M.H. Zakaly a, b, ** , H.A. Saudi c , Shams A.M. Issa b, d , M. Rashad d, e , A.I. Elazaka f, g , H. O. Tekin h, i, * , Y.B. Saddeek b, j a Ural Federal University Named After the First President of Russia B N Yeltsin Institute of Physics and Technology, Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovskaya oblast, Russia b Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Assiut, 71452, Egypt c Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Girls’ Branch, Nasr City, Egypt d Physics Department, Faculty of Science, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, 71451, Saudi Arabia e Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, Assiut, 71516, Egypt f Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt g Institute of Nuclear Physics and Engineering, National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, Moscow, Russia h Medical Diagnostic Imaging Department, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, 27272, United Arab Emirates i Center for Advanced Materials Research, Research Institute of Sciences & Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, 27272, United Arab Emirates j Department of Physics, College of Science in Zulf, Majmaah University, Al-Majmaah, 11952, Saudi Arabia A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Borosilicate glasses Optical properties Gamma shielding FLUKA code Micro hardness ABSTRACT This study aimed to have a wide-range investigation on changes of optical, structural, mechanical durability and nuclear radiation attenuation properties of barium borosilicate glasses through BaO reinforcement. Accordingly, gamma-ray attenuation parameters of a series of glasses with the nominal composition of xBaO-(50-x) B 2 O 3 –20NaO–15SiO 2 –10CaO–5Al 2 O 3 (x= 0, 5, 10, 20 and 30 wt%) were extensively evaluated using experi- mental, simulation and theoretical methods. The linear attenuation coeffcient (LAC) of glasses were experi- mentally measured using NaI (Tl) (3×3 inch) detector. LAC values of Ba00, Ba05, Ba10, Ba20 and Ba30 glasses were reported as 0.4951, 1.0129, 1.5780, 2.8795 and 4.4203 at 81 keV and 0.1030, 0.1084, 0.1148, 0.1278, and 0.1397 at 2614 keV, respectively. Accordingly, obtained results were compared with the XCOM program and FLUKA general purpose Monte Carlo simulation code at photon energies from 81 to 2614 keV. Furthermore, LAC values were used to calculate other related parameters including MAC, X 1/2 , and λ. Comparatively higher density (3.652 g/cm 3 ), greater LAC, MAC and lower both X 1/2 , and λ values achieved for Ba30 glass indicated it as a better gamma shield. The outcomes of mechanical durability investigations showed that replacing B 2 O 3 with BaO resulted in a decrease in the fow movement that leads to an increase in the density of the crosslinking as well as the observed difference in the atomic mass B and the atomic mass of Ba and thus increase the hardness Moreover, the vibrational modes of theses samples are active in four IR spectral peaks related to the compositions. More- over, the optical parameters of these samples have been calculated. The results also showed that an enhancement of the transmittance was observed since optical band gap increases as BaO content increases. 1. Introduction Ionizing and nonionizing radiations have an undeniable role in our life, which has been caused by various technological developments in industrial and medical sciences. The term of radiation can be successfully utilized in different types of disciplines such as medical treatment and diagnosis, medical imaging, enhancing the quality and productivity of agricultural products, nuclear power industry, space exploration, food preservation, and material fabrication. The primary expectation from radiation is to increase the technological applications * Corresponding author. Medical Diagnostic Imaging Department, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, 27272, United Arab Emirates. ** Corresponding author. Ural Federal University Named After the First President of Russia B N Yeltsin Institute of Physics and Technology, Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovskaya oblast, Russia. E-mail addresses: h.m.zakaly@azhar.edu.eg (H.M.H. Zakaly), tekin765@gmail.com (H.O. Tekin). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Ceramics International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ceramint https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2020.10.143 Received 15 August 2020; Received in revised form 6 October 2020; Accepted 19 October 2020