PMID- 38218742
OWN - NLM
STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE
LR  - 20240116
IS  - 2045-2322 (Electronic)
IS  - 2045-2322 (Linking)
VI  - 14
IP  - 1
DP  - 2024 Jan 13
TI  - Attenuation properties of poly methyl methacrylate reinforced with micro/nano 
      ZrO(2) as gamma-ray shields.
PG  - 1279
LID - 10.1038/s41598-024-51551-4 [doi]
LID - 1279
AB  - This research aimed to examine the radiation shielding properties of unique 
      polymer composites for medical and non-medical applications. For this purpose, 
      polymer composites, based on poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) as a matrix, were 
      prepared and reinforced with micro- and nanoparticles of ZrO(2) fillers at a 
      loading of 15%, 30%, and 45% by weight. Using the high purity germanium (HPGe) 
      detector, the suggested polymer composites' shielding characteristics were 
      assessed for various radioactive sources. The experimental values of the mass 
      attenuation coefficients (MAC) of the produced composites agreed closely with 
      those obtained theoretically from the XCOM database. Different shielding 
      parameters were estimated at a broad range of photon energies, including the 
      linear attenuation coefficient (mu), tenth value layer (TVL), half value layer 
      (HVL), mean free path (MFP), effective electron density (N(eff)), effective 
      atomic number (Z(eff)), and equivalent atomic number (Z(eq)), as well as exposure 
      buildup factor (EBF) and energy absorption buildup factor (EABF) to provide more 
      shielding information about the penetration of gamma-rays into the chosen composites. 
      The results showed that increasing the content of micro and nano ZrO(2) particles 
      in the PMMA matrix increases mu values and decreases HVL, TVL, and MFP values. 
      P-45nZ sample with 45 wt% of ZrO(2) nanoparticles had the highest mu values, which 
      varied between 2.6546 and 0.0991 cm(-1) as gamma-ray photon energy increased from 
      0.0595 to 1.408 MeV, respectively. Furthermore, the highest relative increase 
      rate in mu values between nano and micro composites was 17.84%, achieved for the 
      P-45nZ sample at 59.53 keV. These findings demonstrated that ZrO(2) nanoparticles 
      shield radiation more effectively than micro ZrO(2) even at the same photon 
      energy and filler wt%. Thus, the proposed nano ZrO(2)/PMMA composites can be used 
      as effective shielding materials to lessen the transmitted radiation dose in 
      radiation facilities.
CI  - (c) 2024. The Author(s).
FAU - Alabsy, Mahmoud T
AU  - Alabsy MT
AD  - Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria, 21511, 
      Egypt.
FAU - Abbas, Mahmoud I
AU  - Abbas MI
AD  - Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria, 21511, 
      Egypt.
FAU - El-Khatib, Alaa Y
AU  - El-Khatib AY
AD  - Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria, 21511, 
      Egypt.
FAU - El-Khatib, Ahmed M
AU  - El-Khatib AM
AD  - Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria, 21511, 
      Egypt. ahmed.elkhatib@alexu.edu.eg.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20240113
PL  - England
TA  - Sci Rep
JT  - Scientific reports
JID - 101563288
SB  - IM
PMC - PMC10787785
COIS- The authors declare no competing interests.
EDAT- 2024/01/14 12:42
MHDA- 2024/01/14 12:43
PMCR- 2024/01/13
CRDT- 2024/01/13 23:03
PHST- 2023/08/03 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2024/01/06 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2024/01/14 12:43 [medline]
PHST- 2024/01/14 12:42 [pubmed]
PHST- 2024/01/13 23:03 [entrez]
PHST- 2024/01/13 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 10.1038/s41598-024-51551-4 [pii]
AID - 51551 [pii]
AID - 10.1038/s41598-024-51551-4 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - Sci Rep. 2024 Jan 13;14(1):1279. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-51551-4.