Comparative study of gamma ray shielding and some properties of PbO–SiO2–Al2O3 and Bi2O3–SiO2–Al2O3 glass systems

•Bi2O3–SiO2–Al2O3 and PbO–SiO2–Al2O3 glasses can replace conventional concretes as gamma-ray shielding materials.•Gamma-ray shielding properties improve with the addition of heavy metals.•Rigidity deteriorates with the increase in the content of heavy metals.•Bi2O3–SiO2–Al2O3 glass system is better than PbO–SiO2–Al2O3 glass system in terms of gamma-ray shielding as well as structural properties.

Gamma-ray shielding properties have been estimated in terms of mass attenuation coefficient, half value layer and mean free path values, whereas, structural studies have been performed in terms of density, optical band gap, glass transition temperature and longitudinal ultrasonic velocity parameters. X-ray diffraction, UV–visible, DSC and ultrasonic techniques have been used to explore the structural properties of PbO–SiO2–Al2O3 and Bi2O3–SiO2–Al2O3 glass systems.