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Abbreviation (ISO4): Prog Chem      Editor in chief: Jincai ZHAO

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Progress in Chemistry >

2024 , Vol. 36 >Issue 7: 1102 - 1116

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7536/PC231105

Review

Gamma Ray Shielding Composite Material with High Z Number

  • Zuoyang Chen 1, 2 ,
  • Zhipeng Huo , 1, * ,
  • Hong Zhang 1 ,
  • Guoqiang Zhong 1
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  • 1 Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China
  • 2 University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
* e-mail :

Received date: 2023-11-06

  Revised date: 2024-03-05

  Online published: 2024-05-20

Supported by

Anhui Province Ecological Environment Research Project(2023hb0017)

University Synergy Innovation Program of Anhui Province(GXXT-2022-001)

Comprehensive Research Facility for Fusion Technology Program of China(2018-000052-73-01-001228)

Institute of Energy, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center(21KZL401)

Institute of Energy, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center(21KHH105)

Institute of Energy, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center(21KZS205)

Institute of Energy, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center(24JYZL01)

Institute of Energy, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center(24JYJB01)

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Abstract

With the development of science and technology,nuclear technology is widely used in energy,medicine,aerospace,and other fields.However,the high-energy gamma ray produced by the application of nuclear technology has strong penetrating ability and can ionize human cells,which will cause damage to human health.Therefore,it is crucial to develop effective radiation shielding materials.Since the density and effective atomic number of materials have great influence on the gamma shielding properties of materials,fillers containing high atomic number(high Z)elements are introduced into various matrix materials by researchers to prepare composite shielding materials.This paper explains Three fundamental physical effects of the interaction between gamma photons and atoms.three kinds of high Z gamma ray composite shielding materials based on glass,polymer,and metal matrixes are introduced respectively,and the existing challenges and solutions are summarized。

Contents

1 Introduction

2 Interaction of gamma ray with matter

3 Research progress of gamma ray composite shielding material with high Z number

3.1 Glass-based gamma ray composite shielding materials with high Z number

3.2 Polymer-based gamma ray composite shielding materials with high Z number

3.3 Metal-based gamma ray composite shielding materials with high Z number

4 Conclusion and prospect

Key words： high Z number; radiation shielding; composite material; gamma ray

Cite this article

Zuoyang Chen , Zhipeng Huo , Hong Zhang , Guoqiang Zhong . Gamma Ray Shielding Composite Material with High Z Number[J]. Progress in Chemistry, 2024 , 36(7) : 1102 -1116 . DOI: 10.7536/PC231105

1 Introduction

with the progress of science and technology and industrialization,nuclear technology is more and more widely used in energy,medicine,scientific research,aerospace,agriculture,industry and other fields.However,in the application of nuclear energy technology,high-energy gamma rays will be produced,which have strong penetrability,can ionize With human cells,destroy proteins,biological enzymes and nucleic acids in cells,and will have a serious impact on human health.Long-term exposure to radiation will lead to gene mutation,cancer and even death[1,2]。 Therefore,it is particularly important to develop protective materials that can efficiently shield radiation。
The application of radiation shielding materials mainly includes radiation protection in nuclear power plant,radiation protection in nuclear medicine,collimation shielding in nuclear measurement,conditioning of nuclear waste,storage and transportation of spent fuel,and military radiation protection[3][4][5][6][7][8]。 Traditional radiation shielding materials are Concrete and lead.concrete has many disadvantages,such as opaque,heavy,large volume and aging cracks in the process of long-term use,which limit its application[9]。 the toxicity of lead can cause great harm to the environment and human health.Intake of lead can affect the central and peripheral nervous system,bone marrow,kidney,myocardium,endocrine and immune system[10⇓~12]。 It can be seen that the performance of traditional single-component materials is difficult to meet the requirements of application and development in the field of radiation shielding materials.Therefore,there is an urgent need to develop efficient,stable and environmentally friendly radiation shielding materials.In recent years,researchers usually use high atomic number(high Z)compounds as fillers because the radiation protection performance of materials is directly related to their density,effective atomic number and（Zeff）.According to specific requirements,through a special preparation process,doped into different types of matrix materials,combined with the performance advantages of different materials,composite shielding materials can be developed to deal with various applications[13]。 Because of its high transparency,glass-based composite radiation shielding materials can be used in medical radiological diagnosis or nuclear facilities related fields,such as X-ray rooms,CT scanning and doors and windows of some nuclear energy laboratories[14,15]; Polymer-based composite shielding materials are widely used in the field of radiation shielding,such as shielding materials for personal protective equipment,medical facilities and nuclear reactors,due to their light weight,non-toxic and harmless,good mechanical properties and various preparation processes[16][4][3]。 Metal matrix composite shielding materials have high density,strong mechanical properties,stable structure and good thermal properties,which are mostly used in extreme radiation environments,such as the transportation and storage of spent fuel[7]。 different matrix materials have their own advantages and characteristics,and can be combined with high-Z materials to achieve Different uses。
in this paper,three basic physical effects of the interaction between gamma rays and matter,and some commonly used shielding performance parameters are described;Then the research progress of typical gamma composite shielding materials In recent years is introduced;Finally,the problems to be solved and the development trend of gamma composite shielding materials are summarized。

2 Interaction of gamma rays with matter

Gamma rays are electromagnetic waves with a wavelength of less than 0.01 angstrom and a frequency of more than 30 EHZ,which are emitted by radioactive nuclei when they decay and transition to lower energy levels[17]。 As a high-energy photon,the interaction of gamma ray with matter is mainly divided into photoelectric effect,Compton effect and electron pair effect.the relation between the relative importance of the three action effects and the photon energy and the effective atomic number of the absorbing species is shown in Fig.1。
图1 三种效应的相对重要性[18]

Fig. 1 The relative importance of the three effects[18]

photoelectric effect:When the energy of the incident photon is greater than a certain value,the inner electron of the material nucleus collides with the incident photon and is excited to form a current.At the same time,the outer electron jumps to the vacancy of the inner electron and emits characteristic X-rays,as shown in Figure 2(a).the photoelectric effect mainly occurs in the low energy range of incident photons from 10 to 100 keV.It can be seen from Figure 1 that the probability of photoelectric effect increases with the increase of the atomic number of the substance。
图2 （a）光电效应示意图；（b）康普顿效应示意图；（c）电子对效应示意图

Fig. 2 The schematic of (a) photoelectric, (b) Compton scattering and (c) electron pair effects

Compton effect:the incident photon collides elastically with the outer electron of the material nucleus,and part of the energy is transferred to the outer electron.the direction of motion of the incident photon is deflected and becomes a scattered photon.At the same time,after the outer electron is excited,it breaks away from the binding of the nucleus and becomes a Compton electron,As shown in Figure 2(B).as can be seen from Fig.1,the Compton effect mainly occurs in the medium energy range where the incident photon is 100 keV∼10 MeV。
electron pair effect:When the energy of the incident photon is greater than 1.02 MeV,that is,the rest mass of two electrons(the rest mass of an electron is 0.511 MeV),the incident photon is converted into a positron and a negative electron under the action of the nuclear Coulomb field of the atomic nucleus,As shown in Figure 2(C).as shown in Fig.1,the electron pair effect mainly occurs in the high energy range of photon energy greater than 10 MeV,and the probability of electron pair effect increases with the increase of the atomic number of the acting substance。
Because the atomic number of a substance is positively correlated with the probability of interaction,high-Z compounds are usually used as fillers to dope different matrix materials to increase the effective atomic number of the composite,thereby increasing the probability of interaction between the material and incident photons,thus effectively improving the radiation protection performance of the material。
Linear attenuation coefficient(LAC),mass attenuation coefficient(MAC),half value layer(HVL)and mean free path(MFP)are the main physical parameters used to measure the performance of gamma ray shielding。
The linear attenuation coefficientµ(unit cm−1）is defined as the probability for a material of a certain thickness to interact with a radiated photon.The larger the value ofµ,the greater the probability of interaction between the material and photons,which means the better the shielding performance.The formula is as follows:
I = I0 e−µx
Where I and I0are the transmitted and incident gamma ray intensities,respectively.µis the linear attenuation coefficient of the sample at this energy gamma ray,and X is the thickness of the sample.The total linear attenuation coefficient（µγ）is the sum of the attenuation coefficients for photoelectric absorption（μph）,Compton scattering（μc）,and electron pair（μp）production for a given photon energy[19]。
µγ = μph + μc + μp
The linear attenuation coefficient can be used to calculate other shielding performance parameters,such as MAC,HVL,MFP,Zeff,and transmission coefficients for X-rays and gamma rays 。
The mass attenuation coefficientµm（unit cm2/g）is defined as the degree of attenuation of radiated photons by a material at a unit mass density.The formula is as follows:
μm = μ/ρ
Whereρstands for the bulk density of the shielding material。
The half-value layer HVL(in cm)is the thickness of material required to reduce the initial radiation intensity to half.It can intuitively reflect the relationship between the shielding performance and the thickness of the material,and the lower the thickness of the half-value layer,the higher the shielding performance.the formula is as follows:
HVL = ln2/µ
the mean free path MFP(in cm)is described as the average distance traveled by a particle between two successive collisions.The MFP value is one of the important parameters to characterize the radiation protection ability of materials,and its formula is as follows:
MFP = 1/μ

3 Research Progress of High-Z Gamma-ray Composite Shielding Material

3.1 High Z glass based gamma ray composite shielding material

glass-based materials have always been the research focus of radiation shielding materials due to their excellent chemical and optical properties,such as corrosion resistance,light transmittance and the diversity of preparation processes.Common glass materials with single component,such as silica glass,phosphate glass and borate glass,are difficult to meet the comprehensive requirements of radiation protection,optical properties and physicochemical properties at the same time.Studies have shown that the radiation shielding performance of glass materials can be significantly improved by doping oxides with high-Z elements。
Tellurite-based glass has good optical properties,such as refractive index higher than 2,large transmittance in the visible light range,low melting temperature,good uniformity,good chemical properties,thermal properties and mechanical stability[20]。 Because of these properties,tellurate-based glass is one of the research hotspots of gamma radiation shielding materials.Researchers have extensively studied the effects of doping transition metal oxides or high-Z rare earth oxides,such as WO3,Bi2O3,Yb2O3,V2O3,on the structure,chemical stability,physical properties and gamma shielding properties of tellurate-based glasses[21,22][23⇓~25][26][27]。
Gunha et al.Used the melt-quenching method to prepare a glass system with the chemical formula of 80TeO2-（20-x）Na2O-xTiO2(TNT glass for short,as shown in Fig.3,where X varies from 0 to 20 mol%),and the added TiO2,as a glass network modifier,significantly affects the thermal stability and optical properties of the glass[28]。 The glass transition temperature（Tg）of the glass increases with the increase of TiO2content,and the thermal stability of the glass system is improved.However,the transmittance is affected by the doping of TiO2,as shown in Fig.3,the transmittance of glass decreases with the increase of TiO2content.Alzahrani et al.Studied the radiation protection properties of the glass system[20]。 The shielding ability of the glass material was simulated by using PHITS Monte Carlo and XCOM/Phy-X codes in the incident photon energy range from 15 keV to 15 MeV.The results show that the MFP and HVL values of all the tested samples increase with the increase of photon energy.At the same incident photon energy,the highest MFP and HVL values were obtained for the TNT-A(X=0)sample,while the lowest values were obtained for the TNT-E(X=20)sample,and both values decreased with increasing TiO2content.In order to better evaluate the gamma shielding performance of TNT glass,it was compared with other commonly used shielding materials,and the MFP and HVL of TNT glass system were significantly lower than those of ordinary concrete,hematite-serpentine concrete,RS-253-G18 glass,and basalt-magnetite concrete.The LAC value of TNT glass system was simulated,and the results show that the LAC value of TNT glass system increases with the increase of TiO2content in each energy range,and TNT-E(X=20)has better gamma ray shielding performance than other TNT glass samples 。
图3 80 TeO2-(20−x) Na2O-x TiO2玻璃样品[28]

Fig. 3 80 TeO2-(20−x) Na2O-x TiO2 glass samples[28]. Copyright 2019, Springer

Borate glass has excellent properties,such as good transmittance,low melting point,good thermal and chemical stability,and easy control of chemical composition.Such glass materials can be heat treated by adding alkaline oxides such as Na2O,Li2O,CaO,BaO,SrO to reduce the melting temperature of the glass and change the physical properties of the glass matrix[29][30][31][32,33][34]。 On this basis,glass materials can be added with specific modifiers,dopants and different chemical fillers to meet the requirements of different applications.Therefore,borate glass has a wide range of applications in the field of radiation protection。
Ibrahim et al.Prepared borate glasses with the chemical formula of 40B2O3-30Na2O-（30-x）ZnO-xWO3by melt-quenching method,as shown in Fig.4(a),where X=0,2,4,6,8 and 10 mol%[35]。 Due to the introduction of ZnO with high polarizability and low melting temperature,the melting temperature of borate glass also decreases.The XRD results of the glass material showed that no sharp characteristic peaks were found,which proved that the sample was an amorphous glass structure.The internal structural groups of the glass were studied by infrared spectroscopy,and it was found that with the addition of glass modifier Na2O,the structural unit BO3of the glass sample was gradually transformed into BO4,the bridging oxygen bond(B—O)was broken,and then the non-bridging oxygen bond(N—B—O)was formed,and the glass structure became more compact and stable.The optical properties of the samples were studied.The results showed that the optical band gap of the samples decreased and the absorption edge of the glass red-shifted with the increase of WO3content.At the same time,the optical transmittance of the glass in the visible range(340–800 nm)was measured,as shown in Fig.4(B),it was observed from the transmission spectrum that the sample glass had no absorption band in the visible range,presenting good optical performance,and the transmittance increased with the increase of WO3 。
图4 （a）40B2O3-30Na2O-（30-x）ZnO-xWO3样品和（b）样品玻璃在可见光范围内的透过率[35]

Fig. 4 （a）40B2O3-30Na2O-(30-x)ZnO-xWO3 glass samples, （b）The transmittance of the sample glass in the visible range[35]. Copyright 2022, Elsevier

They studied the radiation shielding performance of the sample glass,and simulated and calculated the LAC,HVL and MFP of the glass in the incident photon energy range of 0.2~3 MeV by using Phy-X software.It is found that in the low energy region(0.2~0.8 MeV),the LAC value of the sample decreases rapidly.For example,for NaZnWB10 glass(X=10 mol%),the LAC value decreases rapidly from 0.824 cm-1to 0.211 cm-1as the incident photon energy increases from 0.2 MeV to 0.8 MeV.This is due to the fact that in this energy region,the interaction between matter and photons is dominated by the photoelectric effect,and high-Z matter has a high absorption efficiency for low-energy photons.However,in the medium energy photon range of 0.9~3 MeV,the interaction between substances in this energy region is mainly Compton scattering effect,and the absorption effect of high-Z materials on photons of this energy is limited,and the LAC values of all six glass samples decrease slightly.Moreover,with the increase of WO3content,the LAC value of glass also increases.For example,at the incident photon energy of 0.3 MeV,the LAC value of NaZnWB0 without WO3increases from 0.299 cm-1to 0.462 cm-1compared with NaZnWB10 with the most WO3.Similarly,due to the addition of high-Z material WO3,the density of the composite glass material increases,and the HVL and MFP values of the samples decrease with the increase of WO3content at the same incident photon energy,indicating that the WO3has a significant enhancement effect on the shielding performance of the glass material 。
Kaky et al.Prepare a glass system with that chemical formula of（80-x）B2O3-10ZnO-10MgO-xBi2O3,where X is 10 mol%,20 mol%,30 mol%,40 mol%50 mol%and 60 mol%[36]。 The optical properties of the glasses were studied by measuring the optical band gap values.The results show that both the direct and indirect band gaps decrease with the increase of Bi2O3content,which is due to the change of glass network structure and the decrease of the bonding strength between metal and oxygen atoms,thus enhancing the bonding strength of non-bridging oxygen[37]。 The mass attenuation coefficients of six glass samples were obtained by experimental measurement and WinXCOM program simulation.The results showed that the MAC increased with the increase of Bi2O3content from 10 mol%to 60 mol%.This is due to the fact that after boron is replaced by high-Z element(Bi),the gamma shielding performance of the sample is better,the attenuation performance of photons is improved,and the error between the simulation value and the experimental value is very small.In addition,the radiation protection efficiency(RPE),MFP and HVL of six glass samples were measured as a function of radiation energy(81~964.1 keV),and the results show that the RPE decreases with the increase of energy except for the photon with energy of 121 keV.The RPE values are high in the radiation energy range of 0~121 keV,which indicates that the prepared glass samples have good attenuation ability for low-energy photons.For example,the RPE of sample 3(X=30 mol%)at 81 keV is 93.95%,which means that this sample can attenuate most of the incident photons.Moreover,sample 1(X=10 mol%)has the lowest RPE,while sample 6(X=60 mol%)has the largest RPE with the most Bi2O3）.Moreover,under the same incident photon energy,the values of MFP and HVL of composite glass materials decrease with the increase of Bi2O3content,especially in the high energy region,the difference is more significant,which means that the content of Bi2O3significantly affects the radiation shielding performance of glass materials 。
Phosphate glass has the advantages of low glass transition temperature,low optical dispersion and low preparation cost,but the poor corrosion resistance,strong hygroscopicity and strong volatility of pure phosphate glass greatly limit the application of phosphate glass.The chemical stability of glass materials can be improved by adding some metal oxides,such as B2O3,CaO,Al2O3and Na2O,to the phosphate glass matrix as network modifiers of glass,and on this basis,the addition of metal oxides with high-Z elements can improve the radiation protection properties of glass materials[38,39][40][41][42]。
Mostafa et al.Prepared glass samples with the chemical formula of（50-x）P2O5-20B2O3-5Al2O3-25Na2O-xCoO by melt-quenching method,where X=1 mol%,2 mol%,4 mol%,8 mol%and 12 mol%[43]。 The XRD spectrum of the prepared sample has no characteristic peak,and the sample shows a good amorphous structure.In the glass system containing B2O3and P2O5,the BO4and PO4structural units can be cross-linked,and the increase of CoO makes the non-bridging oxygen in the phosphate structural unit convert into bridging oxygen,resulting in a new,strong and stable B—O—P bond,which makes the borophosphate glass network become more compact,and the chemical stability of the glass system is also promoted[44]。 the HVL values of five glass samples in this study were simulated and calculated.compared with the glass samples containing 1 mol%~12 mol%CoO,It was found that the HVL values of the samples were quite different.with the increase of CoO content,the HVL value of the sample decreased,and the HVL value was positively correlated with the incident photon radiation energy.At the same time,the HVL values of the sample containing 12 mol%CoO were Compared with those of ordinary concrete and hematite-serpentine concrete,which are commonly used as radiation shielding materials.it was found that the HVL values of the glass sample were significantly lower than those of the two concretes;the same rule also occurs in the simulation calculation of the MFP of the glass sample,and the results show that the MFP value of the glass sample containing 12 mol%CoO is the lowest,which confirms that the doping of Co element in the glass sample can improve its gamma shielding performance。
Tekin et al.Studied the mechanical properties and radiation shielding properties of barium tungsten phosphate glasses with the chemical formula of（50-x）P2O5-50BaO-xWO3（x=0,5,10,and 15 mol% )[45]。 The experimental results show that the Young's modulus of the glass samples increases with the increase of WO3content;The value of Young's modulus for sample 1(X=0 mol%)varies from 60.99 GPa to 63.53 GPa for sample 4(X=15 mol%).The value of longitudinal elastic modulus of sample 1–sample 4 glass increases gradually from 75.258 GPa to 79.42 GPa.It can be seen that the mechanical properties of glass increase with the increase of WO3content.The gamma ray shielding properties of glass samples were studied in the incident photon energy range of 0.015~15 MeV.The results show that at the same photon energy,the LAC and MAC values of sample 4 are the highest,and correspondingly,the HVL and MFP values of sample 4 are the lowest among all the samples,which shows that increasing the content of WO3has a direct impact on the gamma ray shielding ability of glass materials.A comparison of the HVL values of sample 4 with other reported glass materials and commercial concrete in the photon energy range of 0.015 to 15 MeV is shown in Figure 5.It can be seen from the figure that the HVL values of all materials increase with the increase of the incident gamma-ray energy,and the HVL values of all shielding materials reach the maximum value in the high energy region;In the tested gamma energy range,the HVL value of sample 4 is the lowest among all the comparison materials,especially in the incident gamma energy range of 0.015~1 MeV.This indicates that the gamma-ray shielding performance of sample 4 is the best among all the comparison materials.The shielding materials used in this study to compare HVL values were as follows,Glass1:5 wt%Cr2O3-Borosilicate glass,Glass2:5 wt%Er2O3-Obsidian glass,Glass3:10Bi2O3-20CaO-10K2O-20Na2O-40P2O5(mol%),Glass4:10Li2O-20K2O-50B2O3-20PbO(mol%),Glass5:10Li2O-20K2O-60B2O3-10SrO(mol%),Ordinary Concrete(OC),and Hematite-Serpentine Concrete(HSC )[46][47][48][49][50][51][51]。
图5 样品4（S4）与其他材料HVL值的比较[45]

Fig. 5 Comparison of half-value layer of sample 4 with other materials[45]. Copyright 2022, Elsevier

Some typical glass-based gamma ray composite shielding materials and their performance parameters are shown in Table 1.Because glass materials have high requirements for transmittance,in the relatively high gamma ray radiation environment,glass materials should not only ensure the radiation shielding rate,but also meet the physical properties.the anti-radiation performance of glass can be significantly improved by adding high-Z element substances,but at the same time,with the increase of fillers,the optical properties of glass will be greatly negatively affected.How to develop a stable glass material with both shielding and optical properties is the difficulty of radiation protection glass research。
表1 Typical high-Z glass-based gamma ray composite shielding materials and their performance parameters

Table 1 Typical glass-based gamma-ray composite shielding materials with high Z number and their performance parameters

Chemical composition Physical property Gamma energy (MeV) Shielding performance Ref
80 mol% TeO2-20 mol% TiO2 ρ: 5.27, Vm: 27.26 0.2 μ/ρ: 0.28, μ: 1.52, HVL: 0.032 20
54.6 wt% TeO2-22.6 wt% WO3-22.8 wt% Bi2O3 ρ: 6.381 2 μ/ρ: 0.044, HVL: 2.24 25
54 mol% TeO2-27.6 mol% B2O3-7.9 mol% CaO-10 mol% CaF2- 0.5 mol% Yb2O3 ρ: 4.46 0.347 μ/ρ: 0.123, μ: 0.551 26
45 mol% B2O3-25 mol% Bi2O3-15 mol% ZnO-15 mol% Na2O ρ: 7.94, Vm: 16.41 2.4 HVL: 1.98, MFP: 2.51 29
20 mol% B2O3-40 mol% Bi2O3-30 mol% PbO-10 mol% Li2O ρ: 5.94 0.1 μ/ρ: 4.849, HVL: 0.024 30
36 wt% B2O3-40 wt% PbO-20 wt% ZnO-4 wt% CaMg(CO3)2 ρ: 3.868 0.356 μ: 0.638, HVL: 1.23 31
30 mol% LiF-10 mol% SrO-59.75 mol% B2O3-0.25 mol% Cr2O3 ρ: 2.563 0.356 μ/ρ: 0.0971, HVL: 2.75 34
40 mol % B2O3-30 mol % Na2O-20 mol %ZnO-10 mol %WO3 ρ: 3.01, Vm: 28.45 0.2 μ: 0.84, HVL: 0.853, MFP: 1.23 35
20 mol% B2O3-10 mol% ZnO-10 mol% MgO-60 mol% Bi2O3 ρ: 7.107 0.3 μ/ρ: 0.344, HVL: 0.52 36
20 mol% CaO-10 mol% K2O-20 mol% Na2O-50 mol% P2O5 ρ: 2.2251 0.661 μ/ρ: 0.075 40
38 mol% P2O5-20 mol% B2O3-5 mol% Al2O3-25 mol% Na2O-12 mol% CoO ρ: 2.785 0.356 μ/ρ: 0.1, HVL: 2.51 43
35 mol% P2O5-50 mol% BaO-15 mol% WO3 ρ: 4.45, Vm: 36.2 0.2 μ: 1.81, μ/ρ: 0.34, HVL: 0.45 45

Parameter:ρ:density(g/cm3);Vm:molar volume(cm3mol-1);μ/ρ:mass attenuation coefficient(cm2/g);μ:linear attenuation coefficients(cm-1);HVL:half value layer(cm);MFP:mean free path(cm )。

3.2 High-Z polymer-based gamma ray composite shielding material

Polymer materials are rich in light nuclear element H,which can significantly slow down the speed of neutrons and convert them into thermal neutrons when they collide with fast neutrons with the same mass.And because of its strong designability,functional fillers can be introduced into the material through many preparation methods to endow it with specific properties,so it is widely used as a matrix material in the field of radiation protection.By doping fillers that can capture thermal neutrons or shield gamma rays,such as B4C,BN,Bi2O3,WO3,Pb,the prepared polymer matrix composites have good radiation protection properties[52][53,54][55⇓⇓~58][59,60][61⇓~63]。
Toyen et al.Studied the radiation shielding properties and mechanical properties of UHMWPE doped with Sm2O3as a polymer matrix composite for shielding neutron-gamma radiation,and the content of Sm2O3varied from 0 to 50 wt%[64]。 The experimental results show that although the addition of Sm2O3in UHWMPE material can improve the overall shielding performance of the material,the interfacial compatibility between Sm2O3and UHMWPE is poor,and the agglomeration of Sm2O3particles may lead to the formation of voids in the matrix and the uneven distribution of fillers,which leads to the reduction of the overall mechanical properties of the composite.Specifically,the tensile strength and elongation at break of the pure UHMWPE material are 25.9 MPa and 1058%,respectively,while those of the sample containing 50 wt%Sm2O3are reduced to 20.0 MPa and 117%,respectively[65]。 This negative effect can limit the durability and reliability of the material in practical applications.In order to improve the interfacial compatibility between Sm2O3filler and UHMWPE matrix,and then enhance the wear/mechanical properties of the composites,silane coupling agent(KBE903)was used to treat the surface of Sm2O3particles before the preparation of Sm2O3/UHMWPE composites.The experimental results showed that the wear resistance and mechanical properties of the Sm2O3/UHMWPE composite were greatly improved after the Sm2O3particles were treated by KBE903 coupling agent with 5~20 pph content,and the specific wear rate and friction coefficient were lower,and the tensile strength,elongation at break and surface hardness were higher than those of the composite without silane coupling agent surface treatment.Then the LAC,MAC and HVL values of the Sm2O3/UHMWPE composites with different Sm2O3contents were tested at the incident neutron energy of 0.025 eV and the incident photon energy of 0.334,0.712 and 0.737 MeV.The results show that the addition of Sm2O3to the UHMWPE composite significantly enhances the neutron attenuation ability of the material,and the HVL value decreases from 0.2565 cm for pure polyethylene to 0.0363 cm for the sample containing 50 wt%Sm2O3.And with the increase of Sm2O3content,the attenuation ability of the composite to gamma rays is gradually enhanced,and the LAC and MAC values of the sample are gradually increased with the increase of Sm2O3content under three different energies of incident gamma rays,for example,at the incident photon energy of 0.737 MeV,the LAC value of the material gradually rises from 0.0805 without Sm2O3to 0.1381 with 50 wt%Sm2O3[66]。 At a photon energy of 0.334 MeV,the MAC value of the material gradually rises from 0.1187 without Sm2O3to 0.1490 with 50 wt%Sm2O3.These results show that the addition of high-Z element Sm increases the probability of interaction between the material and neutrons due to the high neutron absorption cross section of Sm element,and the attenuation mechanism of neutrons through the slowing down of H element and the absorption of Sm element in the composite greatly improves the neutron shielding performance of the composite.On the other hand,the Sm2O3filler enhances the attenuation ability of gamma rays,because the high atomic number and high density of Sm increase the probability of interaction between incident photons and the composite,and the gamma radiation shielding performance of the material is greatly enhanced 。
Huo Zhipeng et al.from the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences prepared a surface-modified gadolinium/boron/polyethylene(HDPE)composite sheet for radiation shielding by hot pressing,as shown in Fig.6[67]。 The coupling agent was also used to modify the surface of the reinforced filler Gd2O3,which effectively solved the problem of filler agglomeration and poor interfacial compatibility between the filler and the polymer matrix.The thermogravimetric analysis(TGA)and differential scanning calorimetry(DSC)of the material showed that the thermal stability of the composite board with reinforced filler was better than that of the pure HDPE board.Moreover,the thermal stability of the composite material prepared by the modified filler is better than that of the composite material prepared by the unmodified filler,and the thermal decomposition temperature of the composite plate composed of the modified filler is higher than that of the composite plate composed of the unmodified filler.The reason for this result is that the interaction between the modified filler and the HDPE molecular chain is stronger,which prevents the relative movement of the HDPE molecular chain more effectively.In addition,the thermal decomposition temperature and melting temperature of the composite plate increase with the increase of the filler mass fraction[68]。 The mechanical tensile test of the material shows that the Young's modulus and tensile strength of the composite plate are improved compared with those of pure HDPE,and the rigid fillers（Gd2O3and B4C）have a reinforcing effect on the HDPE polymer chain segment,which limits the flexibility and mobility of the HDPE chain segment[69]。 At the same time,the dispersion of the modified filler in the HDPE matrix is improved,and the agglomeration of the filler is reduced.When the material is subjected to stress,the interfacial bonding force between the filler and HDPE is helpful to share part of the stress,thereby reducing the stress concentration effect in the material[70]。 Due to the addition of Gd and B elements with high neutron absorption cross section,the neutron shielding performance of the composite plate has been significantly improved.At the same time,Gd,as a high-Z element,also has the function of absorbing gamma rays.Taking the surface-modified 10 wt%Gd2O3/20 wt%B4C/70 wt%HDPE composite plate as an example,the results of radiation shielding experiment show that when the thickness of the plate is 4.5 cm,the neutron shielding rate of the plate to the252Cf neutron source can reach 71.8%,which is higher than that of the plate made of other components and unmodified fillers;At the same time,when the thickness of the plate is 13.7 cm,the gamma shielding rate of the137Cs gamma source can reach 70%,where LAC and MAC are 0.082 cm-1and 0.056 cm2/g,respectively.It can be seen that the surface modification of the filler is helpful to improve the neutron and gamma shielding performance of the material,and the Gd element with high neutron absorption cross-section and high Z is uniformly dispersed in the polymer matrix,which can significantly improve the interaction probability of gamma rays and neutrons with the plate,so the shielding performance is also improved 。
图6 Gd2O3/B4C/HDPE复合板材照片[67]

Fig. 6 Photo of Gd2O3/B4C/HDPE composite material[67]

Avcio Avcioğlu synthesized a hybrid filler containing Dy and B elements by sol-gel method,and prepared a low density polyethylene(LDPE)matrix composite sheet reinforced with Dy/B filler by hot pressing method[71]。 The addition of hybrid fillers into the LDPE matrix affected the mechanical properties of the material.The stiffness of the Dy/B-LDPE composite was greatly improved due to the reinforced particles,which inhibited the movement of polymer segments under stress.Compared with pure LDPE,the Young's modulus increased from 189.0 MPa to 203.7 MPa,and the impact strength of the material increased from 81.45 kJ/m2to 86.6 kJ/m2[72]。 However,the elongation at break of Dy/B-LDPE composites decreased by 17.3%and the tensile strength decreased by 2 MPa compared with pure LDPE.This is due to the fact that the size of the reinforcing filler is micron-sized,and there is no chemical bond between the filler particle and the polymer matrix,and the free movement of the micron-sized filler particle under tensile stress will deform the softer polymer matrix.in particular,the reinforcing filler particles with high hardness will produce a notch effect under stress,resulting in a decrease in the tensile strength of the composite[73]。 the gamma shielding properties of Dy/B-LDPE composite board were simulated by Phy-X/PSD software.Due to the addition of high-Z element Dy,both the effective atomic number and the effective electron density of the composite are enhanced.gamma rays are attenuated or absorbed by electrons in a material.the more electrons in a material,the higher the electron density,and the better the gamma attenuation performance.the results show that the HVL and ten-value layer(TVL)of Dy/B-LDPE composite sheet are lower than that of pure LDPE。
Epoxy resin is usually used as the support matrix of radiation shielding composites because of its good thermal stability,corrosion resistance and mechanical properties.High filler loading in polymer matrix composites can lead to some defects,such as phase separation,voids and microcracks.Therefore,it is necessary to optimize the mass ratio of metal oxide to polymer as a filler to provide stable support for the composite without losing the ray attenuation performance.in addition,the dispersion of these metal oxide particles and their particle size in the polymer matrix are also two important factors affecting the shielding performance of materials[74]。 Muthamma et al.Prepared bisphenol A epoxy resin(DGEBA)matrix composites with micron-sized(about 10μm)and nano-sized(about 20 nm)Bi2O3as fillers by solution casting method[75]。 The effects of filler size and content on the thermal and gamma ray shielding properties of the composites were studied by changing the filler content.The thermal stability of the composites was tested by thermogravimetric analysis,and the experimental data showed that the thermal stability of the composites was improved with the increase of the content of Bi2O3filler,and the temperature values（T10%）at 10%weight loss and（T50%）at 50%weight loss increased with the increase of the content of filler.Under the same filler content,the nano-filler composite material shows better thermal stability,and the T10%and the T50%value of the nano-filler composite material are higher than those of the micro-filler composite material.The MAC values of micro/nano Bi2O3/epoxy composites were calculated by experiment and WinXCOM program simulation at incident photon energies of 0.356,0.511,0.662,1.130,1.28 and 1.332 MeV.The measured MAC values of the composites were compared with the WinXCOM simulation values,and it was found that the measured values were in good agreement with the calculated values.The results show that the MAC value of the composites increases with the increase of the filler content,which is due to the fact that the effective atomic number of the composites increases with the increase of the filler content of Bi2O3with high atomic number and high density in the epoxy matrix,so the gamma attenuation performance of the composites is also enhanced;Moreover,as the filler size decreases,the density of the composite increases,because the nanofiller occupies more voids in the matrix,while the microfiller leaves more holes in the matrix.Therefore,the radiation shielding performance of nanocomposites is better than that of microcomposites.For example,the MAC values at 0.356,0.511,0.662,1.173,1.280 and 1.332 MeV incident photon energy of the composite containing 14 wt%nano Bi2O3are 5.6%,3.7%,9.3%,7.8%,6.8%and 3.4%higher than those of the composite containing 14 wt%micro Bi2O3,respectively.These results show that the improvement of thermal and gamma shielding properties of the composites by nanofillers is more significant than that by microfillers 。
High-energy radiation(such as gamma rays)can seriously threaten the life and health of workers working in radiation sites such as nuclear power plants,radioactive waste disposal sites,radioactive scientific devices and radiological medicine.Therefore,it is of great significance for radiation workers to study personal radiation protection equipment with both wearing comfort and radiation protection safety.Mai Fuhan et al.Of Southwest University of Science and Technology first prepared PbWO4（PWO）particles,then dispersed PWO particles in styrene-maleic anhydride(SMA)solution for surface modification,and finally prepared PWO@SMA/polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)fibers with high filling degree through solution blending and wet spinning process[76]。 the particle size distribution and dispersion of PWO particles in SMA suspension play an important role in The smooth solution spinning[77⇓~79]。 As a surfactant,SMA can coat itself on the surface of PWO particles by electrostatic adsorption,which can effectively prevent the agglomeration of PWO particles and improve the uniformity of particle size distribution of suspension.After the surface modification of PWO particles by SMA,a large number of hydrogen bonds were formed between PVA and PWO particles,which inhibited the formation of defects between PVA matrix and PWO particles and reduced the stress concentration of composite fiber materials under external force[80,81]。 the mechanical properties test showed that the tensile strength of the modified composite fiber was significantly higher than that of the unmodified composite fiber when the particle filling amount was the same.the gamma ray shielding performance and air permeability test results of PWO@SMA/PVA composite fiber fabric show that the gamma ray shielding performance of the fabric increases with the increase of filler content.Among them,the 60 wt%PWO@SMA/PVA composite fiber fabric has the highest shielding rate against 105 keV gamma rays,which can reach 31.13%.At the same time,the fabric also has a certain degree of air permeability,which ensures the comfort of people wearing it。
Gouda et al.Prepared a silicone rubber matrix composite reinforced with micro/nano SnO2（(the average particle size of nano SnO2is 19 nm,and the average particle size of micro SnO2is 9μm)as a lead-free gamma radiation shielding clothing material[82]。 The effect of different size and loading of SnO2filler on the mechanical properties and radiation protection of the composites was investigated.The results of mechanical tensile test show that the SnO2as filler can improve the extension length and tensile strength of silicone rubber composites by transferring the load between the particles and the silicone rubber chain.In addition,nano-sized SnO2particles have better distribution uniformity in the polymer than micro-sized SnO2particles,thus improving the mechanical properties of the polymer more significantly,for example,the tensile strength of the material increases from 0.186 MPa in the micro-sized range to 0.218 MPa in the nano-sized range at a specific gravity of 20 wt%SnO2.However,when the content of SnO2increases from 20 wt%to 50 wt%,the ultimate tensile stress,elongation at break and ultimate tensile strain of the composites decrease.This sharp change in tensile properties is caused by the agglomeration of the SnO2particles resulting in a decrease in the strength of the cross-linking bonds between the particles and the matrix.The radiation shielding properties of the materials were tested in the incident photon energy range of 59~1 408 keV,and the results showed that the LAC and MAC values of the nanocomposites were higher than those of the micron-sized composites,while the corresponding HVL and MFP values were lower than those of the micron-sized composites.Especially in the low energy region,the difference between the shielding properties of nano-and micro-composites is very significant.The difference in shielding performance is also reflected in the density of the materials,with the composite filled with nanoparticles having a higher density than the composite filled with microparticles at the same filler content 。
Al-Ghamdi et Al.Also used flexible and highly elastic silicone rubber as the matrix,but chose nano-sized WO3particles(average particle size of 40 nm)as the filler[83]。 The mechanical properties of the materials were tested,and the results showed that the addition of nano-WO3had a positive effect on the tensile strength and Young's modulus of silicone rubber,and the tensile strength of silicone rubber without nano-WO3was 3.975 MPa,while the tensile strength of silicone rubber with 60 wt%nano-WO3was 4.295 MPa.The LAC,MAC,HVL and MFP values of the materials showed that increasing the content of WO3nano WO3particles could improve the attenuation performance of the silicone rubber composite against gamma rays 。
Table 2 lists some polymer-based gamma ray composite shielding materials and their parameters of mechanical properties and radiation shielding performance.By uniformly dispersing the micron-sized or even nanosized high-Z element compound filler in the polymer matrix,the radiation protection performance of the material can be significantly improved,it also improves the mechanical properties and heat resistance to a certain extent,but the poor thermal stability of polymer matrix materials at high temperature limits the use of such materials in high temperature occasions.Therefore,It is difficult to improve the heat resistance of polymer matrix composites。
表2 Typical High-Z Polymer-based Gamma Ray Composite Shielding Material and Its Performance Parameters

Table 2 Typical polymer-based gamma-ray composite shielding materials with high Z number and their performance parameters

Chemical composition Mechanical property Gamma energy (MeV) Shielding performance Ref
57.8 wt% Bi2O3/NR σb: 20.13, δ: 640 0.662 μ/ρ: 0.118, HVL: 3.67 55
65 wt% Bi4Ti3O12/ER Hs: 84.01 0.1 μ/ρ: 5.4 58
10 wt% W/10 wt% BNNS/LDPE σe: 0.68, σs: 8.5 0.662 μ: 0.082, μ/ρ: 0.083 59
50 wt% Sm2O3/UHMWPE σb: 20.0, δ: 117 0.334 μ/ρ: 0.149, HVL: 2.726 64
21 wt% Sm2O3/16.5 wt% acetone/62.5 wt% PI σb: 200, σe: 24 0.662 Sγ: 42.4(THK: 50) 66
1.7 wt% DyB2O2/LDPE σy: 203.7, σb: 12.3, δ: 82.7 0.1 μ: 10.45, μ/ρ: 1.15 71
30 wt% HOFA/ER σy: 1940 0.11 μ: 0.204, HVL: 3.37 74
14 wt% Bi2O3/DGEBA σb: 326, δ: 1.8 0.356 μ/ρ: 0.15 75
40 wt% PWO@SMA/PVA σb: 3.4 0.105 Sγ: 31.13(THK: 2) 76
60 wt% WO3/SR σy: 3.41, σb: 4.295 0.06 μ: 3.9, μ/ρ: 1.68 78

Parameter:σy:young's modulus(GPa);σb:tensile strength(MPa);δ:elongation at break(%);Hs:shore hardness(HD);σe:elastic modulus(GPa);σs:yield strength(MPa);THK:thickness of sample(cm);Sγ:gamma shielding rate(%);Sn:neutron shielding rate(%);μ/ρ:mass attenuation coefficient(cm2/g);μ:linear attenuation coefficients(cm-1);HVL:half value layer(cm )。

3.3 High Z metal based gamma ray composite shielding material

the alloy material used for radiation shielding has excellent physical and chemical properties such as low thermal expansion coefficient,corrosion resistance,high hardness,high strength,high melting point and the like.However,the uniform and dense metal structure is the primary requirement to ensure the excellent performance of the alloy.in traditional alloys,impurity phases and intermetallic compounds appear with the increase of the variety of components In the alloy,which can adversely affect the mechanical properties of the alloy.At the same time,metal materials will gradually produce radiation defects,such as bubbles,precipitates,dislocation loops,amorphous phases or radiation-induced segregation[84][85][86][87,88][89]。 These irradiation defects are usually accompanied by degradation of physical and mechanical properties and premature failure of components[90]。 in order to improve the mechanical,physical,chemical and radiation resistance properties of traditional alloys,some special preparation methods and processes can be used,such as high temperature and high pressure heat treatment process,inert atmosphere arc melting process,doping high-Z nano-oxide particles in the alloy,or doping nano-sheets in the alloy,etc[91][92][93][94⇓~96]。
Tishkevich et al.Prepared a tungsten-copper alloy composite(containing W-85 wt%and Cu-15 wt%)with excellent properties such as low thermal expansion coefficient,corrosion resistance,high hardness,high strength and high melting point by hot isostatic pressing.the remarkable feature of this method is that the heating and cooling of the sample are carried out under high pressure,so the sintering efficiency is high[91]。 The microstructure changes of the samples prepared under different temperature and pressure conditions were investigated.At a fixed pressure of 5000 MPa,the size of the copper phase decreased from 28.1μm to 22.6μm and the effective density value of the alloy material increased from 12.07 g/cm3to 16.37 g/cm3as the sintering temperature increased from 1000℃to 1500℃.The samples were also prepared at a fixed temperature with different pressures,and the size of the copper phase gradually decreased with the increase of pressure.The results show that the alloy composite with high density,low porosity and good uniformity can be obtained by sintering under the combined action of high pressure and high temperature.The LAC and RPE values of W-Cu alloy samples to gamma rays were measured by using Ba-133,Na-22,Cs-137 and Co-60 radioactive sources.The LAC and RPE values of the samples prepared at high temperature and high pressure are significantly higher than those of the samples prepared at relatively low temperature and low pressure.Meanwhile,the LAC and RPE values increase with the sample thickness.The RPE value of the W-Cu composite with a thickness of 0.06 cm is 23.2%at an incident photon energy of 0.276 MeV.When the thickness is 0.27 cm,the RPE value increases to 54.7% 。
high-entropy alloys(HEAs),alloys formed from at least four to five metallic elements in equal or approximately equal amounts,have attracted much attention because of their excellent material properties,such as high yield strength,fracture toughness,wear resistance,corrosion resistance,good ductility,and thermal stability.Nickel-based HEAs have been proved to have high temperature resistance and good microstructural stability,and can also reduce the structural damage caused by irradiation and improve the mechanical and thermal properties of the alloy by adjusting the alloy composition[97][98,99]。 Gul et al.Obtained NiCoFeCrW high-entropy alloy doped with B4C by ball milling and mixing the equimolar amount of nickel-containing metal powder and 2.5 wt%of B4C,and then repeatedly melting at high temperature,and studied the effects of B4C doping on the microstructure,mechanical properties and radiation protection properties of the high-entropy alloy[100]。 The SEM photograph of the sample(shown in Fig.7)shows that the B4C is uniformly dispersed and embedded in the alloy matrix.The addition of carbides to the metal matrix leads to grain boundary shrinkage,which prevents grain growth,and the grain size decreases with the increase of B4C.Moreover,the tough and wear-resistant B4C filler significantly improves the mechanical properties of the alloy material.The hardness and compressive strength of the samples were tested,and the results showed that the hardness of HEA was 221 HV,while the hardness of HEA-B4C composite with 2.5 wt%B4C was 474 HV,which increased by more than one time,and the compressive strength of the corresponding samples also increased from 747 MPa to 1740 MPa.Because this high-entropy alloy contains high-Z element W with strong gamma-ray shielding ability,the MFP value of the material is 0.52 cm at the incident photon energy of 0.4 MeV,which is significantly lower than that of other traditional shielding materials;At the same time,the effective neutron absorption cross section of the HEA-B4C composite doped with B4C is improved by the B element with higher thermal neutron absorption cross section in the alloy 。
图7 HEA-B4C复合材料的SEM图像[100]

Fig. 7 SEM image of HEA-B4C composite material[100]. Copyright 2022, Elsevier

nanoalloy materials are composed of alloy particles with a size of 2~100 nm,which have excellent mechanical and electrical properties,and are widely used in data storage,catalysts,biosensors,cancer therapy and other fields.Nanoalloy materials have good uniformity and high density.Researchers have prepared Nanoalloy composites suitable for radiation shielding by adding high-Z metals to change the chemical composition of the alloy.ball milling is often used to refine the size of alloy particles because the size of alloy particles should reach nanometer level,and the effect of wet ball milling is better than that of dry ball milling[101][102,103]。 Kaur et al.Used wet ball milling to refine the alloy particles and prepared a nanoalloy composite with the chemical formula of 60 mol%Pb-20 mol%Sn-10 mol%Zn-10 mol%Cd by hot pressing[104]。 Before ball milling,toluene solution was added to the mixed metal powder,which effectively prevented the alloy powder from caking during ball milling.The alloy composite was characterized by transmission electron microscopy(TEM)and scanning electron microscopy(SEM),and the results showed that the average particle size of the alloy was about 70 nm,and the alloy particles were uniformly distributed.The variation of MAC value of nanoalloy composite and alloy without ball milling refinement in the photon energy range of 1 keV~10 MeV was simulated by WinXCOM program.The simulation results show that the probability of photon-atom interaction is inversely proportional to the incident photon energy,and the MAC value of the material decreases with the increase of photon energy.The MAC value of the nanoalloy material decreases from 4.521 cm2/g of 0.1 MeV to 0.101 cm2/g of 0.662 MeV,and the MAC values of the nanoalloy material are significantly higher than those of the alloy material without ball milling refinement.This is due to the higher dispersion and better uniformity of nano-sized high-Z element particles in the alloy matrix,so the density of nano-alloy materials is higher,the probability of interaction between incident photons and materials is greater,and the shielding performance of materials is better 。
Rani et al.Prepared an alloy material with the chemical formula of 50Bi-(50-x)Sn-xZn by melt quenching,where X varied from 0 to 50 wt%,and studied the effect of Zn content on the radiation shielding performance of the alloy material[105]。 The density of the material was measured by Archimedes'principle,and the results showed that the density of the material decreased with the increase of Zn content.The MAC,HVL and TVL values of the alloy material at three incident photon energies of 0.511,0.662 and 1.25 MeV were measured and simulated by WinXCOM software,and the measured data were in good agreement with the simulated data.The results show that the MAC value of the 50 wt%Bi-50 wt%Sn alloy material with the least Zn content is the highest,while its HVL and TVL values are lower than those of the alloy materials with other components,which indicates that its radiation shielding performance is the best.This study shows that the substitution of high-Z element Sn for Zn can effectively improve the radiation shielding performance of the material.Hamad et al.Also used the melt-quenching method to prepare an alloy material with a stoichiometric ratio of FexSe0.5Te0.5（0.95≤x≤1.05）[106]。 The density measurement results of the alloy show that the density of the alloy increases with the decrease of iron content.The radiation shielding performance parameters such as LAC,MAC,HVL and MFP of the alloy material at different incident photon energies were calculated by experimental measurement and WinXCOM program simulation.The results show that the LAC value of the sample increases with the decrease of iron content,and the sample with the lowest iron content(Fe0.95Se0.5Te0.5（x=0.95)has the largest LAC and MAC values and the smallest HVL and MFP values at the same incident photon energy,which means that the sample has the best shielding performance.The results show that the radiation shielding performance of the alloy increases with the increase of the proportion of high-Z elements Se and Te in the alloy 。
Some typical metal-matrix composite shielding materials are shown in Table 3.Filling the particles of high Z elements into the metal matrix can effectively improve the radiation shielding performance of metal materials,but the filler particles are easy to agglomerate during the processing.Therefore,the plasticity and toughness of the alloy material are reduced,and the mechanical properties of the material are affected,so that the filler particles can be uniformly dispersed in the metal matrix through a special preparation process.How to ensure the radiation protection performance of the material without reducing the mechanical properties of the alloy material remains to be further studied。
表3 Typical high-Z metal-based gamma ray composite shielding materials and their performance parameters

Table 3 Typical metal-based composite shielding materials with high Z number and their performance parameters

Chemical composition Physical property Gamma energy (MeV) Shielding Performance ref
85 wt%W/15 wt%Cu ρ: 16.37 0.276 Sγ: 54.7(THK: 2.7) 91
2.4 wt% B4C/NiCoFeCrW σb: 1740, Hv: 474 0.4 MFP: 0.52 100
60Pb/20Sn/10Zn/10Cd (mol%) ρ: 9.781 0.662 μ/ρ: 0.101 104
50 wt%Bi/40 wt%Sn/10 wt%Zn ρ: 8.649 0.662 μ/ρ: 0.0938, μ: 0.8113 105
Fe0.95Se0.5Te0.5 ρ: 5.7971 0.662 μ/ρ: 0.07527 106

Parameter:σb:tensile stress(MPa);Hν:vickers hardness(HV);ρ:density(g/cm3);THK:thickness of sample(mm);μ:linear attenuation coefficients(cm-1);μ/ρ:mass attenuation coefficient(cm2/g);HVL:half value layer(cm);MFP:mean free path(cm);Sγ:gamma shielding rate(% )。

4 Conclusion and prospect

in this paper,the research progress of three kinds of high-Z gamma ray composite shielding materials,including glass matrix,polymer matrix and metal matrix,is introduced according to the types of matrix materials.Due to the differences In the physical and chemical properties of the matrix materials,the advantages,disadvantages and applicable occasions of different types of composites are also different。
Due to the high light transmittance,the radiation shielding performance of the glass-based composite shielding material can be effectively enhanced by adding high-Z element fillers,and the glass-based composite shielding material can be used as an observation door and window in a radiation environment.However,the addition of high-Z fillers usually significantly reduces the transmittance of glass materials and increases the melting temperature of glass,thus increasing the difficulty of glass preparation.the melting temperature of the glass can be reduced by adding component materials with high polarizability and low melting temperature,which is beneficial to the processing and molding of the material.the introduction of the network modifier can optimize the amorphous structure of the glass to ensure good transmittance,and can form strong and stable chemical bonds between the structural units of the glass to make the glass network more compact,thereby improving the chemical stability of the glass-based composite material.On this basis,the proportion of each component filler is optimized,and the physical and chemical properties of the glass material are taken into account to meet the requirements of practical application。
the polymer matrix composite shielding material has the remarkable advantages of light weight,good plasticity,easy processing,environmental friendliness and the like,so the polymer matrix composite shielding material is widely used in the field of radiation protection,and can be used as a radiation shielding plate and a material for preparing radiation protective clothing.However,the thermal stability of polymer-based materials is not good,the shielding effect on relatively high-energy radiation is limited,and the materials will age when exposed to radiation for a long time,so they are not suitable for shielding materials in high temperature environment or inside the reactor.the poor interfacial compatibility between the high-Z filler and the polymer matrix will affect the dispersion of the filler inside the material,resulting in a decrease in the radiation shielding performance of the material.the coupling agent is used to modify the surface of the filler or reduce the size of the reinforcing filler,which can effectively enhance the interfacial bonding force between the filler and the polymer matrix,improve the dispersion of the filler,and reduce the stress concentration under the action of external force,thereby improving the radiation shielding performance and mechanical properties of the material。
metal matrix composite shielding materials have excellent thermal and mechanical properties:high temperature resistance,low thermal expansion coefficient,high strength,high hardness and strong plasticity.However,due to the high density of metal materials,it is difficult to process and prepare,which limits its application in many occasions.Therefore,metal matrix composite shielding materials are mostly used in extreme radiation environments,such as the transportation and storage of spent fuel.However,the high Z filler in the metal matrix is prone to agglomeration,impurity phase and intermetallic compounds,which reduce the mechanical properties of the composite.By improving the preparation process,such as hot isostatic pressing,mechanized alloying or preparing high-entropy alloys,the grain size can be effectively refined and the uniform dispersion of fillers can be promoted to ensure the excellent performance of metal materials。
composite shielding materials can complement the advantages of different materials to meet the requirements of various radiation environments because of their easy control of composition,which is an important direction for future research and development of radiation shielding materials.However,there are various problems in the process of combination and doping of materials,which can be effectively solved by optimizing the preparation process and modifying the filler.in practical applications,more factors should be considered,such as the service life of materials,the cost and technology of industrial production,etc.Therefore,as a research hotspot in the field of radiation protection materials in recent years,gamma ray Composite shielding materials need to be further studied。

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