A binary composite material of nano polyaniline intercalated with Nano-Fe2O3 for enhancing gamma-radiation-shielding properties: Experimental and simulation study

In this work, (Nano-Fe2O3), Nano Polyaniline (NPANI), and a 50%–50% mixture (NPANI + Nano-Fe2O3) samples have been synthesized and implemented towards nuclear radiation attenuation. The synthesized samples have been characterized using Fourier transform- Infrared, X-ray diffraction, and Scanning Electron Microscope. Then, their radiation shielding properties were established using Monte Carlo simulation code and Phy-X/PSD software in the energy range of photon energies of 0.015 MeV–15 MeV. Also, the synthesized samples were investigated experimentally using a hyper-pure germanium detector for 133Ba, 137Cs, and 60Co at selected photon energies of 0.356, 0.661, 1.173, and 1.332 MeV. The linear attenuation coefficient, mean free path, half-value layer, tenth-value layer, and effective atomic number were calculated to determine the radiation shielding characteristics of the synthesized nanocomposite sample. The linear attenuation coefficient (μ) values varied from 83.332 cm−1 to 0.057 cm−1 for the Nano-Fe2O3 sample, 1.412 cm−1 to 0.03 cm−1 for the NPANI sample, and 38.945 to 0.043 cm−1 for the NPANI + Nano- Fe2O3 sample. The results showed that the linear attenuation of the Nano-Fe2O3 sample was highest due to the increased concentration of Fe element (69% w.t.). The fast neutron removal cross-sections for the three synthesis samples, NPANI, NPANI + Nano-Fe2O3, and Nano-Fe2O3 were 0.155 cm−1, 0.111 cm−1, and 0.056 cm−1, respectively. The NPANI sample was higher than other synthetic samples and those of some commercial glass, polymer, and concrete samples.