An examination of synthesis, physical, optical, and radiation safety features of Ce/Yb-doped borate glasses

Applying the melt-quenching method, lithium strontium boro-fluoride glasses with the chemical formula 22Li₂O–28SrF₂-(50-x)B₂O₃–xCeO₂–xYb₂O₃: (x = 0–1 mol%) were created. The material’s physical characteristics, optical properties, and radiation-shielding abilities have been investigated. As the oxides molar fraction [CeO₂ + Yb₂O₃] increased from 0.0 mol% for CY0 sample to 2.0 mol% for CY7 sample, the density increased from 2.4582 to 4.6587 g.cm⁻³. In the glass structure, the oxygen-molar volume (OMV) dropped from 18.10785 to 10.09772 cm³.mol⁻¹. From 3.070 to 2.620 eV, the indirect energy gap (\(E_{{{\text{gap}}}}^{{{\text{indirect}}}}\)) was obtained. The energy E_U values of the Urbach grew from 0.210 eV to 0.659 eV as the concentration of (CeO₂ + Yb₂O₃) increased. The range of values for refractive index (n) was 2.378 to 2.507. The generation of non-bridging oxygen (NBO) is improved by the addition of rare earths. When the concentration of [CeO₂ + Yb₂O₃] in the glassy network is increased from 0 to 2.0 mol%, the mass-attenuation-coefficient (MAC) values at E = 0.015 MeV range from 7.746 to 13.676 cm².g⁻¹. Across the whole energy range, the sample coded as CY7 exhibits the best radiation protection effectiveness (RPE) values, demonstrating the strong influence of the [CeO₂ + Yb₂O₃] molar fraction. The suggested CY0–CY7 glasses can be used in the fields of optical devices and radiation protection.