Air and Water Vapor Permeable UHMWPE Composite Membranes for X-Ray Shielding

Current flexible X-ray shielding garments are lacking in air and water vapor permeability. Herein, ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)/polyester mesh (PETM)/CeO2 composite membranes with low-intensity X-ray shielding properties as well as high air and water vapor permeability were prepared via the thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) method. CeO2 powders were pulverized below 1 mu m by wet ball milling with low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and then, the powders were coated by LDPE. After that, CeO2 powders were homogenously dispersed in UHMWPE solution and compressed with PETM to form UHMWPE/PETM/CeO2 composite membranes for shielding X-rays. The macroporous morphology was caused by annealing the composite membranes during the TIPS process, thereby improving the air and water vapor permeability. Meanwhile, the composite membranes have higher mechanical strength compared with commercial DuPont Tyvek and polyester fabrics. The composite membranes also have a good shielding property for X-ray photon energy range from 40.4 to 50 keV.