Fe-Nanoparticle Effect on Polypropylene for Effective Radiation Protection. Simulation and theoretical study.

Abstract

In this study, polymer nanocomposite materials based on polypropylene and iron nanoparticles are evaluated for their gamma-neutron shielding capabilities. The chemical composition of these materials is (100-x) PP-Fex, (where x = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 1, 2 and 5 weight percent). Using the Geant4 Monte Carlo code, the mass attenuation coefficient(MAC), a crucial parameter for studying the gamma-ray shielding capabilities, was determined for the proposed polymer samples in the photon energy range of 30-2000 KeV. The results were compared to those predicted by the EpiXS programme. The values of the Geant4 code and the EpiXS software were both found to be in excellent agreement. The linear attenuation coefficients, electron density, effective atomic number, and half value layer for all the concerned samples were then determined for each sample using the mass attenuation coefficient values. Additionally, the polymer samples' neutron shielding properties were evaluated by estimating both the fast neutron removal cross-section and the mean free path of the fast neutron in the energy ranging between 0.25-5.5 KeV. The findings show that as the polymer sample's Fe nanoparticle content rises, the PP-Fe polymer samples' gamma-ray shielding efficacy changes. Among the examined glasses, the PP-Fe5 polymer sample offers the best gamma-ray shielding ability. Finally, the PP-Fe5 polymer sample containing 5 mol% of Fe, has the highest ∑R value (1.10650 cm−1) and the lowest value of the fast neutron mean free path. This means that the PPFe5 possesses better neutron shielding efficiency.