## 1 Introduction  
Nuclear technology has represented an innovation, particularly in medicine and industry, serving as an essential tool in the development of society. Nuclear applications, such as accelerators, nuclear reactors, research laboratories, medical treatments, and the detection and analysis of materials, are some of the practical areas explored daily to respond to new societal challenges. However, ionizing radiation affects the radiological safety and security of both the population and the environment, and they require the development of suitable radiological protection measures, specifically radiation shielding materials. The selection of shielding materials depends on the requirements for reducing exposure rates, the type of source, and a cost-effectiveness analysis. Concrete and lead metal are used at the industrial scale as shielding materials against high-energy radiation. The limitations of these conventional shielding materials, particularly their heavy weight, large volume, opacity, and toxicity, have led researchers to explore new material compositions for radiation shielding [1, 2, 3, 4]. With radiation tolerance and unique transparency, allowing for external monitoring of activity of the radioactive materials, glass-type (amorphous) materials are a favorable option under development. Numerous studies have been reported on modifying the composition of borate, phosphate, bismuthate, vanadate, and tellurite glasses with heavy metal elements and network-modifying oxides as alternatives to lead- and concrete-based materials, aiming to improve radiation absorption [5; 6; 7]. As a network former, B\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{3}\) is currently the most promising glass material for applications like scintillators, gamma radiation detectors, laser technology, and radiation shielding materials due to its special characteristics, such as its low processing temperature, low viscosity, glass-forming ability, high transparency, and flexibility [8; 9]. Limitations are related to the low density of B\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{3}\) (2.46 g/cm\({}^{2}\)), a critical property for enhancing radiation attenuation capacity. Extensive studies have focused on improving the performance of borate glass by modifying its structure with various heavy metal oxides or elements with high atomic number Z. Optimizing the borate matrix with heavy metal oxides (e.g., PbO, Bi\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{3}\), BaO, CdO) enhances the physical and radiation shielding properties of borate glasses [10; 11; 12]. Furthermore, the addition of PbO in borate glasses lowers the melting temperature and improves the optical and luminescence properties by reducing its phonon energy (\(\sim\)1400 cm\({}^{-1}\)), but the structure becomes complex, with high processing costs. With low processing temperatures and high density, glasses containing lead are promising materials for the detection and shielding of ionizing radiation. Lead, as a heavy element, is currently the most efficient, affordable, and readily available radiation shielding material, and, to limit its toxicity, the present study investigated the effect of gradually reducing PbO\({}_{2}\) with SiO\({}_{2}\) and rare earth oxides on radiation shielding properties. The incorporation of SiO\({}_{2}\) into the lead dioxide host matrix improved the stability and chemical durability of the glass samples and offered distinctive properties to the electronic structure. Rare earth elements are excellent candidates for absorbing and attenuating ionizing radiation, particularly X-rays and gamma rays, because of their beneficial characteristics, such as their high density and atomic number. Additionally, as luminescent materials, glasses have become the ideal solution for promoting sustainability due to their specific features: flexibility, durability, and recyclability. In the last years, white luminescence in glass has attracted tremendous interest regarding its possible application in white-light-emitting diodes (w-LEDs), a suitable source with high energy efficiency, low energy consumption, brightness, and long life [13].