Comprehensive study on structure, shielding properties of Ga-In-Sn-Bi-Zn alloys: potential use for low energy radiation

Abstract

Low-melting point Ga-In-Sn-Bi-Zn alloys were prepared using a vacuum melting technique as a novel radiation shielding material. To evaluate the interaction between alloys and photons in the energy range of 1–10000 keV, the WinXCom and Phy-X procedures are used to determine the shielding parameters for the Ga-In-Sn-Bi-Zn alloys, such as the mass attenuation coefficient, linear attenuation coefficient, half-value layer, tenth-value layer, mean free path, effective atomic number. Simultaneously, the energy absorption and exposure buildup factors, fast neutron removal cross section values is also calculated and the comparative lead equivalent (M) and weight reduction over lead for the alloy samples are compared. It is observed that the Ga2In2Sn2Bi3Zn1 alloy have exhibit superior comprehensive radiation attenuation, with a weight reduction of 2.948% compared to lead for the same shielding performance in the 30–90 keV range. After being irradiated by 40 keV He + irradiation system for 120 h, the phase structure of Ga2In2Sn2Bi3Zn1 alloy remained unchanged and that it shows excellent radiation tolerance. Combined with field emission scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis results indicate that Ga2In2Sn2Bi3Zn1 is a eutectic alloy with a five-phase complex-regular structure and a melting point of 66.95 °C. The alloy exhibits excellent fluid compliance in the molten state when blended with polymers to prepare composites. The alloy filler is uniformly and continuously distributed in the polymer matrix, which ensures the reliability of the radiation shielding properties of the composites.