The potential of bi2–xZrxO3+x/2@ZrO2 (BZO) as a heavyweight radiation shielding material: Fabrication and characterization using a hydrothermal technique directly from zircon mineral

The hydrothermal technique was utilized to produce a new zirconia doped Bi ions to be suitable for gamma ray shielding applications. The monoclinic phase of zirconia in the manufactured samples is revealed by X-ray diffraction, and each sample's variation in the intensity and position of the diffraction peaks prominently represented the different percentage of BiZrO. Furthermore, the scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive X-ray analysis show the morphology and chemical composition of the fabricated composites. Additionally, utilizing the Monte Carlo simulation, the radiation shielding properties of the fabricated composites were estimated. Regarding the fabricated composites, the highest linear attenuation coefficient of the fabricated composites varied from 21.796 cm−1 to 0.333 cm−1, raising the applied γ-photon energy between 0.059 and 1.332 MeV. Moreover, Addition of Bi2 to zirconia by concentration varied between 14 and 27 wt% slightly enhances the linear attenuation coefficient from 0.503 cm−1 to 0.539 cm−1, respectively, at γ-photon energy of 0.662 MeV. The slight enhancement in the linear attenuation coefficient increases the radiation protection efficiency and decreases the half value thickness from 1.379 cm to 1.285 cm.