Incorporation of Transition Metal Ions into Li₂O + LiF + ZnF₂ + B₂O₃ + P₂O₅-MnO Glasses: Effects on Elastic, Mechanical, and Radiation Effectiveness Behaviors

The desired target of the current report was to examine the efficiency of MnO-based glass systems against x- or g-rays, and mechanical properties with varying amounts of MnO incorporation. The focus was on evaluating their radiation shielding performance and determining their elasto-mechanic intrinsic characteristics. Various gamma and neutron shielding factors, including HVL (half-value layer), Z_eff (Z_eff: effective atomic number), Z_eq (equivalent atomic number), EBF (exposure buildup factor), EABF (energy absorption buildup factor), ACS (atomic cross-section), ESC (electronic cross-section), and SAFE^* (specific absorbed fraction of energy) were planned to assess the radio-protection capabilities of the probed glass systems. Exemplified at E = 15 keV, the MAC (mass attenuation coefficient) values are: 13.99 cm²/g, 14.03 cm²/g, 14.18 cm²/g, 14.36  cm²/g, and 14.55 cm²/g for the glass blocks encoded as LZBP, 0.1Mn:LZBP, 0.5Mn:LZBP, 1.0Mn:LZBP, and 1.5Mn:LZBP respectively, while the SAFE values vary between 31907 g⁻¹ and 32013 g⁻¹ as Mn²⁺ is increased from 0.0 mol% to 1.5 mol%. The outcomes indicate that as the manganese (II) oxide mol% increases, then the MAC, Z_eff, Z_eq, ACS, and ESC values also increase. Among the samples, 1.5Mn:LZBP exhibited the least HVL, EBF, EABF, and SAFE values. This glass, which contains 1.5 mol% of MnO and has the highest interconnecting bonding/volume, may be deemed as an advanced glass for ray protection in the different fields, providing valuable insights into their radiation shielding performance.