Radiation-Shielding Glasses and Composites
This community develops glass and composite materials designed to absorb and block ionizing radiation, including gamma rays and neutrons, for use in nuclear facilities and medical environments.
The research focuses heavily on borate, phosphate, and tellurite glass systems, often doped with heavy-metal oxides like lead, bismuth, or barium to enhance attenuation properties. A significant portion of the work involves characterizing the structural, optical, and mechanical properties of these materials, alongside the development of polymeric composites and concrete formulations for practical shielding applications. Monte Carlo simulations are frequently employed to model radiation transport through these networks. The work spans from fundamental studies of glass-ceramic structures to the engineering of specific shielding panels and building materials.
The community is most prominent in the research tracked for Bismuth, representing 2.5% of all bismuth-related papers, and Neodymium, accounting for 2.9% of that element's research. It also constitutes a notable share of Boron research, comprising 2.4% of the total.
There are 30,662 papers in this community, with the highest publication volumes appearing in the Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, Optical Materials, and Ceramics International.
Recent work continues to explore the structural and optical properties of doped borosilicate and boro-tellurite glasses for gamma and neutron shielding, alongside the development of polymer-based composites and glass-ceramics for dual-function radiation protection.