Some Metal Oxide-Natural Rubber Composites for Gamma- and Low-Energy X-Ray Radiation Shielding

Fisli, A.; Yulianti, E.; Hanurajie, B.; Sukaryo, S. G.; Mashadi, M; Rivai, A. K.; Prastanto, H.; Fathurrahman, M. I.

doi:10.55981/aij.2023.1213

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Table 3 shows that the values of M H − M L , which are positively related to the crosslink density of the composites, increased with increasing Bi 2 O 3 contents [ 46 ]. The increases in M H − M L were mainly due to Bi 2 O 3 particles acting as a co-activator during the chemical vulcanization process that resulted in better bonding between the NR molecular chains and sulfur, resulting in an increased crosslink density and thus the observed M H − M L value [ 40 , 47 ]. These findings agreed well with the previous report of metal oxide/NR composites in gamma shielding that also showed increases in M H − M L values after the addition of metal oxides (Bi 2 O 3 , WO 3 , and Fe 3 O 4 ) [ 40 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-Layered Composites of Natural Rubber (NR) and Bismuth Oxide (Bi2O3) with Enhanced X-ray Shielding and Mechanical Properties

2023

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Due to rapid increases in the utilization of radiation and nuclear technologies, effective and suitable radiation-shielding materials have become one of the most sought-after options to protect users and the public from excessive exposure to the radiation. However, most radiation-shielding materials have greatly reduced mechanical properties after the addition of fillers, resulting in their limited useability and shortened lifetime. Therefore, this work aimed to alleviate such drawbacks/limitations by exploring a possible method to simultaneously enhance both the X-ray shielding and mechanical properties of bismuth oxide (Bi2O3)/natural rubber (NR) composites through multi-layered structures, with varying (1–5) layers and a total combined thickness of 10 mm. To correctly determine the effects of the multi-layered structures on the properties of NR composites, the formulation and layer configuration for all multi-layered samples were tailored such that their theoretical X-ray shielding properties were equal to those of a single-layered sample that contained 200 phr Bi2O3. The results indicated that the multi-layered Bi2O3/NR composites with neat NR sheets on both outer layers (sample-D, sample-F, sample-H, and sample-I) had noticeably higher tensile strength and elongation at break than those of the other designs. Furthermore, all multi-layered samples (sample-B to sample-I), regardless of the layer structure, had enhanced X-ray shielding properties compared to those with a single layer (sample-A), as shown by their higher values of the linear attenuation coefficient (µ) and lead equivalence (Pbeq) and the lower value of the half-value layer (HVL) in the former. This work also determined the effects of thermal aging on relevant properties for all samples, with the results revealing that all the thermal-aged composites had higher values for the tensile modulus but lower values for the swelling percentage, tensile strength, and elongation at break, compared with the non-aged composites. Hence, based on the overall outcomes from this work, it could be concluded that the worrisome decreases in mechanical properties of the common single-layered NR composites after the addition of Bi2O3 could be prevented/reduced by introducing appropriate multi-layered structures, which would not only widen potential applications but also prolong the lifetime of the composites.

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