Epoxy Composites for the Use in Radiation Protection Applications: A Comparison between Baso4, and Zno Nano-Composites and Micro-Composites

Abstract

Abstract: In this work, epoxy composites were prepared containing zinc oxide and barium sulfate to protect against high-energy electromagnetic waves, specifically X-rays and gamma rays. Two types of epoxy composites were developed: one with nanomaterial fillers and the other with micromaterial fillers. A thermal processing technique was employed to prepare one of the two types of composites. Various ratios of barium sulfate, zinc oxide, and epoxy resin were used. For each ratio of epoxy resin composites, multiple characterization techniques were applied and analyzed. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to examine the crystalline structures of the composites, while energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) determined the elemental weight ratios in the samples. Additional techniques included a simple density meter to measure the volumetric density of the epoxy composite samples and micrometers to measure the sample thickness. The two types of prepared epoxy composites, containing either nanofillers or microfillers, were tested for their effectiveness in protecting against gamma rays and X-rays. The measured volumetric densities were 1.0634 kg/m³ for pure epoxy, 3.2365 kg/m³ for nano-filled epoxy composites, and 4.1672 kg/m³ for micro-filled epoxy composites. The epoxy composite with nanomaterial fillers exhibited a linear attenuation coefficient of approximately 0.17 cm⁻¹, while the composite with micromaterial fillers showed a linear attenuation coefficient of approximately 0.15 cm⁻¹. This indicates that the epoxy composite with nanomaterial fillers provides better shielding performance compared to the composite with micromaterial fillers.

Keywords: Epoxy, Barium sulfate, Linear attenuation coefficient, Zinc oxide, Epoxy composites, Gamma-ray, Radiation protection, Composites.