Impact of Growth Temperature of Lead-Oxide Nanostructures on the Attenuation of Gamma Radiation

Chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique is utilizedto grow lead-oxide(PbO) nanostructures (NSs) over PbO seed fabricated by physical vapordeposition (PVD) method on glass substrates. The effect of growthtemperatures 50 and 70 degrees C on the surface topography, opticalproperties, and crystal structure of lead-oxide NSs has been studied.The investigated results suggested that the growth temperature hasa huge and very considerable influence on the PbO NS, and the fabricatedPbO NS has been indexed as the Pb3O4 polycrystallinetetragonal phase. The crystal size for PbO thin films grown at 50 degrees C was 85.688 nm and increased to 96.61 nm once the growth temperaturereached 70 degrees C. The fabricated PbO nanofilms show a high rateof transmittance, which are similar to 70 and 75% in the visible spectrumfor the films deposited at 50 and 70 degrees C, respectively. The obtained E (g) was in the range of 2.099-2.288 eV.Also, the linear attenuation coefficient values of gamma-rays forshielding the Cs-137 radioactive source increased at 50 degrees C. Thetransmission factor, mean free path, and half-value layer are reducedat a higher attenuation coefficient of PbO grown at 50 degrees C. Thisstudy evaluates the relationship between synthesized lead-oxide NSsand the radiation energy attenuation of gamma-rays. This study provideda suitable, novel, and flexible protective shield of clothes or anapron made of lead or lead oxide to protect against ionizing radiationthat meets safety rules and protects medical workers from ionizingradiation.

Automated summary

The effects of growth temperatures on the surface topography, optical properties, and crystal structure of lead-oxide nanostructures were studied. The results showed that the growth temperature significantly influenced the PbO nanostructures. The PbO nanostructures had a polycrystalline tetragonal phase, with larger crystal sizes at higher growth temperatures. The fabricated PbO nanofilms exhibited high transmittance rates and were capable of shielding gamma-rays.