Synthesis, characterization, and performance assessment of new composite ceramics towards radiation shielding applications

The search for materials that serve as good shields for radiation has become very important in light of the increasing exposure to ionizing radiation in various vital sectors. This research presents the synthesis of composites consisting of ferroelectric BaTiO3 (BTO) phase mixed with magnetic phase via sol-gel process assisted sintering process and the study of their gamma 7 ray shielding, structural and morphological features. XRD and FTIR analyses proved the formation of the desired materials. The results of XRD indicated that the BTO phase possesses a tetragonal structure confirming its ferroelectric nature. The tetragonal structure transits to cubic in the composite samples. The morphology was examined by SEM technique and the results showed that the composite ceramics showed a more compacted and less porous morphology compared to pure ceramic. The average grain size and the porosity decreases with increasing the content of the magnetic phase. Experimentally, we measured the linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) at ten distinct energies varying from 0.122 to 1.410 MeV. The pure BTO ceramic (i.e. x = 0.00) has the lowest LAC at any energy, while the addition of the magnetic phase has a notable influence on the LAC and causes an enhancement of the radiation shielding ability of the prepared composites. At 0.122 MeV, the LAC for the pure sample is 5.080 cm(-1), while adding magnetic phase by 5, 10, and 20 led to an increase in the LAC to 6.134, 6.893, and 7.476 cm(-1) respectively. The maximum attenuation ability for the radiation by the prepared composites occurred at 0.122 MeV, while the ability of the attenuation by these composites is gradually decreased and attained the minimum ability at 1.410 MeV. The radiation protection efficiency (RPE) for the prepared composites is almost 100% at 0.122 MeV. In the range of low energy, the RPE results demonstrated that the prepared composites can stop all the incoming photons, thus these composites can be used effectively in low energy-radiation protection applications. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study successfully synthesized composites consisting of ferroelectric BaTiO3 (BTO) phase mixed with a magnetic phase, showing their advantages in radiation shielding, structural, and morphological features. The radiation shielding ability of the composites was enhanced with an increase in the content of the magnetic phase, demonstrating effectiveness in stopping incoming photons in the low-energy range.