Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 nanoparticles reinforced polyester composite for advanced radiation shielding applications: A detailed discussion for synthesis, characterization, and gamma-ray attenuation properties

The current study focuses on improving the polyester's ability to protect against gamma radiation by utilizing a nanofiller made of Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4. Therefore, four polyester samples doped by Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 nanoparticles with various concentrations were fabricated via the sol-gel auto-combustion technique. The characterization of the fabricated composites was performed experimentally using the XRD (Bruker AXS D8 Advanced diffractom-eter), EDX, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Besides, the scanning electron microscope and trans-mission electron microscope were applied in order to describe the particle size of the nano filers and the particle distribution of the additive nanofiller in the fabricated composites. Furthermore, the evaluation of the com-posites' gamma-ray shielding characteristics was done using the Monte Carlo simulation method. According to the study, the inclusion of the nanofiller improved the linear attenuation coefficient of the existing polyester. For example, the linear attenuation coefficient at 662 keV was enhanced with a factor of approximate to 64% by raising the nanofiller concentration between 0 wt% and 40 wt%. The linear attenuation coefficient shows also a high decrease with a factor of approximate to 99%, when the photon energy raised from keV to 1332 keV, respectively, for the polyester sample reinforced by 40 wt% of the nanofillers.

Automated summary

This study focuses on improving the gamma radiation protection ability of polyester by using Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 nanofiller. Four polyester samples with different concentrations of Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 nanoparticles were fabricated using the sol-gel auto-combustion technique. The fabricated composites were characterized experimentally using XRD, EDX, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The particle size of the nanofillers and their distribution in the composites were observed using scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope. The gamma-ray shielding characteristics of the composites were evaluated using Monte Carlo simulation method.