Study of Performance and Radiation-Shielding Properties of Samarium-Doped Calcium Sulfur-Phosphate Glasses for Enhanced Ionizing Radiation Protection

Abstract

The present study investigated the gamma-radiation shielding properties of samarium oxide (Sm₂O₃)-modified calcium sulfate–phosphate glasses with nominal composition 20CaSO4+(80−x)P2O3+ xSm2O320CaSO₄+(80-)P_2O_3+xSm_2O₃, where x=0.50–2.50x=0.50–2.50 mol%. The mass attenuation coefficient (MAC), linear attenuation coefficient (LAC), half-value layer (HVL), mean free path (MFP), and effective atomic number (ZeffZ_{\mathrm{eff}}) were evaluated over photon energies ranging from 0.015 to 15 MeV using the Phy-X/PSD computational platform. The results demonstrated a strong energy- and composition-dependent shielding response. At 0.015 MeV, the MAC increased from 11.990 cm²/g for S1 to 58.518 cm²/g for S4, while the corresponding LAC values increased from 43.404 to 182.576 cm⁻¹. At 15 MeV, the LAC values were 0.083, 0.096, 0.129 and 0.132 cm⁻¹ for S1–S4, respectively. The HVL increased with photon energy, reaching 8.377 cm for S1 and 5.392 cm for S4 at 15 MeV, indicating improved attenuation by the Sm₂O₃-rich composition. Similarly, the MFP at 0.015 MeV decreased from 0.013 cm for S1 to 0.005 cm for S4, confirming the enhanced probability of photon interaction in the Sm₂O₃-containing glass. The calculated ZeffZ_{\mathrm{eff}} values further showed substantial compositional differences, with S4 exhibiting values of 27.90 at 0.347 MeV and 31.99 at 15 MeV, compared with 11.96 and 12.80, respectively, for S1. Overall, the results indicate that increasing Sm₂O₃ content substantially improves the photon attenuation characteristics of the investigated glasses, with S4 demonstrating the most promising shielding performance for gamma-radiation protection applications.