Radiation Shielding Properties of Synthetic Ca-Al2O3 Polymer Based Composites

Abstract

The optical and radiation shielding capabilities of Ca-Al2O3polymer-based composites were explored by combining synthesized aluminum oxide (Al2O3) with calcium (Ca) obtained from different shells. The obtained powders were dispersed into polymeric materials in a ratio of 2:1 via the melt-mixing process and then cast in a 10cm x10cm mold with a thickness of 10 mm and allowed to set at ambient temperature. The X-ray transmission through the composite samples was investigated using a well-collimated point source, and a linear attenuation coefficient was estimated. X-ray fluorescence results revealed calcium contents of 32 %, 37 %, and 34 % for snail shells, seashells, and periwinkle shells, respectively. The X-ray diffraction result confirmed the Al2O3polymorphs at approximately 32oand 57oand the aluminum phase at 46o. The X-ray photon transmittance of the composites is quite low at 40 keV to 60 keV and comparatively higher at 100 keV to 200 keV. For Ca-Al2O3polymer-based composites with calcium contents sourced from seashells, periwinkle shells, and snail shells, the maximum linear attenuation coefficients were 1.0 cm-1,0.79 cm-1, and 0.65 cm-1, respectively. The half-value layer (HVL) and relaxation length of all the samples under investigation decreased abruptly at 40 keV and 60 keV and grew linearly as the energy increased from 100 keV to 200 keV. A Ca-Al2O3polymer-based composite with calcium contents sourced from seashells was found to have higher x-ray attenuating characteristics than other composites.