Abstract
In this study, synthetic silicone rubber (SR) and Bi2O3 micro- and nanoparticles were purchased. The percentages for both sizes of Bi2O3 were 10, 20 and 30 wt% as fillers. The morphological, mechanical and shielding properties were determined for all the prepared samples. The Linear Attenuation Coefficient (LAC) values of the silicon rubber (SR) without Bi2O3 and with 5, 10, 30 and 30% Bi2O3 (in micro and nano sizes) were experimentally measured using different radioactive point sources in the energy range varying from 0.06 to 1.333 MeV. Additionally, we theoretically calculated the LAC for SR with micro-Bi2O3 using XCOM software. A good agreement was noticed between the two methods. The NaI (Tl) scintillation detector and four radioactive point sources (Am-241, Ba-133, Cs-137 and Co-60) were used in the measurements. Other shielding parameters were calculated for the prepared samples, such as the Half Value Layer (HVL), Mean Free Path (MFP) and Radiation Protection Efficiency (RPE), all of which proved that adding nano-Bi2O3 ratios of SR produces higher shielding efficiency than its micro counterpart.
Highlights
In medical facilities, such as hospitals, clinics, outpatient care centers, radiological centers and dental facilities, where ionizing radiation is widely utilized, planning is compulsory to protect patients and medical staff who are usually exposed to different types of radiation
These figures show the variability of tensile strength, Young’s modulus and elongation at break with different concentrations of micro- and nano-Bi2O3 as fillers
The results show that the addition of nano-Bi2O3 produces a greater an increase in tensile strength, Young’s modulus and elongation at break than micro-Bi2O3 with the same percentage
Summary
In medical facilities, such as hospitals, clinics, outpatient care centers, radiological centers and dental facilities, where ionizing radiation is widely utilized, planning is compulsory to protect patients and medical staff who are usually exposed to different types of radiation. For this reason, it is important to use radiation protection materials, whether or not these materials are worn, such as eyeglasses, neck guards or an apron [1–4]. The traditional materials that are practically used in radiation protection applications have several drawbacks
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