Abstract
None of the currently commercialized shielding materials in Generation IV nuclear energy systems are satisfactory in their performance. Developing a candidate neutron shielding material with good heat resistance and high strength is a challenging task. In this work, various gadolinium metal–organic frameworks (Gd-MOFs) with obvious advantages, such as porous structures, organic surfaces and strong neutron-absorbing nuclei, were synthesized to constrain polyimide (PI) chains. A series of Gd-MOF/PI conjugates were subsequently assessed for their thermal stability, mechanical properties and neutron shielding performance. The increase of the Gd-MOF content improved the thermal neutron shielding ability but slightly reduced the fast neutron shielding ability. Compared with those of pure PI, the Gd-MOF/PI films demonstrate a higher glass transition temperature (Tg), which is considered the gold standard of engineering plastics. It was also observed that the tensile strength directly correlates with the Gd-MOF content, which continuously increases until a maximum is reached, and then subsequently decreases. Furthermore, the high-temperature tensile test showed that these tunable Gd-MOF/PI films are intact and robust, indicating their potential application for neutron shielding materials in Generation IV nuclear energy systems.
Highlights
Nuclear technology can revolutionize the energy supply and serve in nuclear power plants and nuclear medicine therapy to bene t manufacturing and surgical procedures
The high-temperature tensile test showed that these tunable gadolinium metal–organic frameworks (Gd-MOFs)/PI films are intact and robust, indicating their potential application for neutron shielding materials in Generation IV nuclear energy systems
0.1 g Gd-MOF was outgassed in a vacuum oven at 120 C for 8 h before the adsorption measurements, and the surface areas were estimated with the BET equation
Summary
Many studies have been performed on several neutron shielding materials, and the properties of these materials have been greatly improved in the past decade. PE, epoxy (EP),[10] polyurethane (PU),[11] ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM)[12] and boron-containing polyimide (PI)[13] are widely used in miniaturized and mobile nuclear energy systems Despite their nontoxicity, good radiation resistance, and better performance than metals (or ceramics) in terms of their elastic nature, low cost and good exibility,[14,15] the addition of second phase llers may destroy the interface compatibility of the polymer composites and surface functionalization of the llers, leading to high production costs. The obtained Gd-MOF/PI composites have excellent thermal stability, mechanical strength and neutron shielding properties, showing strong potential application in shielding materials
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