Non-Toxic and Flexible Radiation-Shielding Composites Based on Natural Rubber Containing Elemental W Fillers for Efficient Shielding against X/γ-rays

Abstract

Conventional radiation-shielding composites usually contain lead, which results in high toxicity and poor portability. Tungsten (W) is an ideal radiation-shielding element that can replace lead due to its high atomic number and non-toxicity. In this work, radiation-shielding composites were prepared using natural rubber (NR) as a matrix and three different particle size powders, namely W, WO3 and WC, as fillers. The results show that, for X-rays, the linear attenuation coefficient of radiation-shielding composites based on natural rubber containing WC with a particle size of 50 μm (50 WC/NR) is 27.005 cm−1 at an X-ray tube voltage of 40 kV, which is more than 14 times the linear attenuation coefficient of NR. For γ-rays, a linear attenuation coefficient of 50 WC/NR achieves 8.320 cm−1 at 81 keV, which is over 55 times the linear attenuation coefficient of NR. In addition, 50 WC/NR had the highest elongation at break at 548.989% and had the lowest hardness at 62 HA. In summary, 50 WC/NR can be used as an alternative to traditional radiation-shielding materials containing lead and has wide application prospects.