Abstract
Recently developed polymer-based composites could prove useful in many applications such as in radiation shielding. In this work, the potential of a bismuth oxide (Bi2O3) nanofiller based on an LDPE polymer was developed as lead-free X-ray radiation shielding offering the benefits of lightness, low-cost and non-toxic compared to pure lead. Three different LDPE-based composites were prepared with varying weight percentages of Bi2O3: 5%, 10% and 15%. The characterizations were extended to include structural properties, physical features, mechanical and thermal properties, and radiation shielding efficiency for the prepared nanocomposites. The results revealed that the incorporation of the Bi2O3 nanofiller into an LDPE improved the density of the composites. There was also a slight increase in the tensile strength and tensile modulus. In addition, there was a clear improvement in the efficiency of the shield when fillers were added to the LDPE polymer. The LDPE + Bi2O3 (15%) composite needed the lowest thickness to attenuate 50% of the incident X-rays. The LDPE + Bi2O3 (15%) polymer can also block around 80% of X-rays at 47.9 keV. In real practice, a thicker shield of the proposed composite materials, or a higher percentage of the filler could be employed to safely ensure the radiation is blocked.
Highlights
The overall unique properties of various composite materials have recently attracted a wide range of scientific research regarding radiation protection due to the materials’ low weight, low manufacturing cost, mechanical strength, flexibility, and chemical stability [1]
Density was used to represent the physical property of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) composites
The increase can be linked to the density range of Bi2O3 which is 8.9 g cm−3: much higher than LDPE’s density of 0.93 g cm−3
Summary
The overall unique properties of various composite materials have recently attracted a wide range of scientific research regarding radiation protection due to the materials’ low weight, low manufacturing cost, mechanical strength, flexibility, and chemical stability [1]. The use of Pb is limited and it is unsuitable for some specific applications that require low cost, flexibility, chemical stability, mechanical strength, and lightness [4]. Polymer composites are an attractive option for radiation shielding because of their many advantages including being environmentally friendly, light, non-toxic, and flexible [5]. Diverse researchers have used various types of polymers as a matrix and have included fillers that provide reinforcement, depending on their overall application. The increased shielding properties of the metal–polymer are because of the uniform distribution of metal and metal oxide particles within the defined matrix [11]
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