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Microstructural design of lead oxide–epoxy composites for radiation shielding purposes
Author(s) -
Azman Nurul Zahirah Noor,
Siddiqui Salim Ahmed,
Hart Robin,
Low It Meng
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.38515
Subject(s) - materials science , composite material , epoxy , scanning electron microscope , microstructure , mass attenuation coefficient , electromagnetic shielding , attenuation , composite number , attenuation coefficient , optics , physics
Composite epoxy samples filled with PbO and Pb3O4 were fabricated to investigate the mass attenuation characteristics of the composites to X‐rays in the diagnostic imaging energy range. The effect of density on the attenuation ability of the composites for radiation shielding purposes was studied using a calibrated X‐ray machine. Characterization of the microstructure properties of the synthesized composites was performed using synchrotron radiation diffraction, optical microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The results indicate that the attenuation ability of the composites increased with an increase in density. The particle size of WO 3 fillers has a negligible effect on the value of mass attenuation coefficient. Microstructural analyses have confirmed the existence of fairly uniform dispersion of fillers within the matrix of epoxy matrix with the average particle size of 1–5 μm for composites with filler loading of ≤ 30 wt % and 5–15 μm for composites with filler loading of ≥ 50 wt %. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013