Structural and functional modifications in CeO₂-doped borosilicate glasses: insights into dielectric behavior and gamma radiation attenuation

The purpose of this work is to examine how the insertion of cerium oxide (CeO₂) impacts the borosilicate glass system’s structure, dielectric, as well as radiation attenuation characteristics. As the CeO₂ quantities expand from 0.0 to 1.0 mol%, the glass’s density gradually rises between 2.9517 and 3.1526 g.cm^{− 3}. Additionally, the structural ordering process surrounding the SiO₄ within a glass structure is formed, and the proportion of linked boron (trigonal as well as tetrahedral cations) increases. As CeO₂ concentrations increase, the absolute value of a dielectric constant (ε’) decreases. Ce-1.0, the sample with the highest Cerium content, has a small ε’ in comparison to other Cerium contents, making it excellent for packing materials because of its fast travel speed. The Phy-X program was used examine, G_Zeq, G_EBF, G_EABF, G_Cef, G_TF, and G_RPE for five specimens of glass with different CeO₂ concentrations across a wide energy range (30–2000 keV). Ce-1.0 was found to have the highest G_Zeq and the lowest G_EBF and G_EABF values. It was confirmed that raising the CeO₂ content improved the glass’s defense against nuclear radiation because there are more high Z numbers (Ce-58) which raises the chance of gamma-ray attenuation.