A peer-reviewed journal published by K. N. Toosi University of Technology

Thermal properties and dosimetric investigation of Gd2O3/ZnO doped glass; Applications in radiation shielding

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Faculty of Sciences of Tunis‎, ‎Université Tunis El-Manar‎, ‎Tunisia

2 Laboratoire Nanomateriaux et Systemes pour Les Energies Renouvelables (LANSER)‎, ‎Centre de Recherches et des Technologies de L'Energie Technopole Borj Cedria‎, ‎Tunisia

Abstract
‎This study focuses on the ability of both ZnO and Gd2O3 used as doping agents in glass in order to replace shielding for lead purposes‎. ‎The choices of metal-transition oxide and rare earth oxide doping aim to compare shielding results‎, ‎given their different properties‎. ‎A thermal study of two series of Zinc oxide and Gadolinium oxide in different percentages is performed‎. ‎The radiation attenuation properties of these doped glasses were developed‎. ‎Experimental measurements were performed using a photon spectrometer‎. ‎Photons incident from Co-60 and Cs-137 sources with main energies of 662‎, ‎1173‎, ‎and 1332 keV were applied to the shield‎. ‎This study demonstrated that adding either Gadolinium oxide or Zinc oxide to medical glass enhances the radiation attenuation ability‎, ‎with a preference given to Gadolinium Oxide glass doping‎. ‎In terms of radiation attenuation‎, ‎the results obtained with Gadolinium Oxide are comparable to those obtained with lead oxide-doped glass‎. ‎In addition to the attenuation factors‎, ‎the thermal properties of each of the mentioned samples were studied under temperature changes‎.

Highlights

  • This study focuses on the ability of both ZnO and Gd2O3used as doping agents.
  • A thermal study of two series of Zinc oxide and Gadolinium oxide in different percentages is performed.
  • Experimental measurements were performed using a photon spectrometer.
  • It was found that adding either ZnO or Gd2O3to medical glass enhances the radiation attenuation ability.

Keywords


Copyright
RPE is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no potential conflict of interest regarding the publication of this work‎.

Funding
‎The authors declare that no funds‎, ‎grants‎, ‎or other financial support were received during the preparation of this manuscript‎.

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Volume 7, Issue 2
Spring 2026
Pages 33-43

  • Receive Date 17 October 2025
  • Revise Date 10 February 2026
  • Accept Date 06 May 2026