Radiation shielding properties of Poly(hydroxylethyl methacrylate)/Tungsten(VI) oxide composites

In this study, it has been demonstrated that poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) -composites containing tungsten(VI) oxide (10%–50%) moieties were successfully prepared by using “radical polymerization method”. For this purpose, hydroxyethyl methacrylate was polymerized with Azobisizobütironitril in dimethyl formamide (DMF) for 0.5 h at 70 °C in order to give the corresponding polymer. The synthesized PHEMA was characterized by 1H NMR, FTIR spectroscopies and GPC. PHEMA - tungsten(VI) oxide composites were prepared at 80°C and their gamma-ray attenuation coefficients were measured using NaI(Tl) scintillation detector. The linear attenuation coefficients of all composites were also calculated theoretically with the XCOM program by considering the elemental analysis of the composites and compared with the experimental results. According to the results of SEM analysis, there is a homogenous dispersion between PHEMA and tungsten(VI) oxide particles. The transmission parameters the half-value layer (HVL), the tenth-value layer (TVL) and the mean free path (MFP) were obtained. It was found that the best shielding material among the studied composites was the PHEMA+50% WO3 with higher linear attenuation coefficient and lower absorption thicknesses. © 2019 Elsevier B.V.