Comparing the Shielding Features of Graphene and Impregnated Activated Carbon with Selected Traditional Shielding Materials For Gamma-Rays

Abstract

Graphene and carbon-based materials are widely used in daily life applications. The richness of optical and electronic properties has made them rapidly rising materials on the horizon of material science and condensed matter physics. Having the sheets of atoms stacked in disorganized manner makes activated carbon different from other forms of graphitic structures. The research about the shielding properties of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and activated carbon for gamma-rays are very rare and active domain of study. Since the use of radioactive sources in different fields (nuclear industry, shielding materials, radiation biophysics and space research application, etc.) has been increasing expeditiously, the photon interactions with matter have gained importance in the world of material science technology. In this work, we review the basics of the impregnated activated carbon (AC) and RGO, as well as the relationship between the structures and the gamma shielding properties in terms of both quality and efficiency. XCom software and EGSnrc simulation code were used to obtain the theoretical values of various shielding parameters which are significantly important to be able to understand the shielding properties of AC and RGO for gamma-rays. We report the mass attenuation coefficients (μm), the half value layer (HVL), the tenth value layer (TVL), and the mean free path (MFP) values and compare them with other commonly used shielding materials like lead, borosilicate, concrete, and vermiculite. The calculated data showed that AC is very appropriate and consistent to be one of the candidates for shielding materials of gamma-rays even though the graphene is seen as inconsistent for such purpose.