Comparison of nano/micro lead, bismuth and tungsten on the gamma shielding properties of the flexible composites against photon in wide energy range (40 keV–662 keV)

In the radiation protection application, the metal-polymer composites have been developed for their radiation shielding properties. In this research, the elastomer composites doped by 10 μm and100nm size of lead, bismuth and tungsten particles as filler with 30 and 60 wt percentages were prepared. To survey the shielding properties of the polymer composites using gamma-ray emitted from 152Eu and 137Cs sources, the gamma flux was measured by using NaI(Tl) detector, then the linear attenuation coefficient was calculated. Also, the Monte Carlo simulation (MCs) method was used. The results showed a direct relationship between the linear attenuation coefficients of the absorbent and filler ratio. Also, the decrease in the particle size of the shielding material in each weight percentage improved the radiation shielding features. When the dimension of the particles was in the order of nano-size, more attenuation was achieved. At low energies used for medical diagnostic X-ray applications due to the predominance of the photoelectric effect, bismuth and lead were suitable selection as filler.