Structural, Morphological, and γ-ray Attenuation properties of m-type hexaferrite BaFe12O19 doped with V2O5, Ce2O3 and Bi2O3 for Radiation Shielding applications

Abstract

This paper studies, structurally analyzes, evaluates the morphology, and assesses the gamma-ray and neutron attenuation properties of a composite material composed of M-type hexaferrite BaFe12O19 (BF) doped with three additional compounds: Bi2O3, V2O5, and Ce2O3. X-ray diffraction revealed that the structure of BF can be indexed to a hexagonal structure, BF/Bi2O3 to a tetragonal structure, BF/V2O5 to a cubic structure, and BF/Ce2O3 to a trigonal structure. These results were refined using PROFEX software. The Crystallite size of the nano-powders was determined by X-ray line broadening using the Williamson-Hall method. Morphology evaluations illustrated that HR-TEM images for BF, BF/Bi2O3, BF/V2O5, and BF/Ce2O3 reveal high crystallinity with a polycrystalline nature. Various attenuation measurements, using the FLUKA Monte Carlo code, aimed to determine the efficacy of these dopants into m-type hexaferrite BF as potential materials for radiation shielding applications. Doping with Bi2O3 into hexaferrite BF markedly enhances its attenuation properties, demonstrating superior Linear Attenuation Coefficient (LAC) values across a broad energy spectrum from 0.16 to 10 MeV. The Mass Attenuation Coefficient (MAC) analysis revealed a pivotal energy threshold at 0.3 MeV. Below this energy, BF presented the highest MAC values. Conversely, for energies equal to or greater than 0.3 MeV, BF exhibited the highest MAC values, affirming its superior gamma photon shielding efficacy. The study of the Half Value Layer (Δ0.5) and Mean Free Path (MFP) provided additional evidence of the superior shielding performance of BF/Bi2O3. The Δ0.5 values ranged between 0.128 to 1.240 cm for BF, 0.162 to 1.430 cm for BF/V2O5, 0.163 to 1.390 cm for BF/Ce2O3, and 0.162 to 1.210 cm for BF/Bi2O3, indicating that BF/Bi2O3 requires a thinner layer to halve the gamma-ray intensity, particularly at higher energies. The MFP values further support the improved shielding ability of BF/Bi2O3, with measurements showing that gamma photons travel the shortest distance before interacting with the material, thereby reducing the potential for radiation exposure.