Investigating the gamma-ray shielding performance of europium-doped tellurite glasses

Radiological protection demands advanced, lead-free shielding materials for nuclear and medical technologies. However, it remains unknown how systematic Eu 2 O 3 doping influences the gamma-ray attenuation and radiation buildup characteristics of multi-component tellurite glasses across the full energy spectrum. Here we establish the composition-dependent shielding performance of (50–x)TeO 2 –5Bi 2 O 3 –15WO 3 –20K 2 O–10ZnO–xEu 2 O 3 glasses (x = 0–7 mol%) from 0.015 to 10 MeV. Mass attenuation coefficients (MACs) were computed and validated against the Phy-X/PSD database. Shielding parameters—including linear attenuation coefficients, effective atomic numbers (Z eff ), half-value layers (HVLs), and buildup factors—were systematically quantified as a function of Eu 2 O 3 content. Increasing Eu 2 O 3 concentration progressively enhances material density (5.38 to 5.50 g/cm 3 ) and all photon attenuation metrics. Validation against reference data yields relative deviations <1%, confirming computational accuracy. At low energies, photoelectric absorption drives Z eff to ∼53 (G-5) near Te/Eu K-edges; values converge to ∼22 in the Compton range (0.1–3 MeV) before rising at high energies. Eu-doped samples exhibit reduced exposure and energy absorption buildup factors, demonstrating diminished scattered photon accumulation. At 0.6 MeV, the 7 mol% Eu 2 O 3 composition (G-5) achieves superior performance, so that MAC of 0.0808 cm 2 /g and HVL of 1.55 cm—outperforming conventional concretes, borosilicate glass, and other tellurite glasses. This work establishes Eu 2 O 3 -doped tellurite glasses as unprecedented lead-free candidates for compact shielding, providing a new framework for designing advanced radiologically protective materials.