Chem. J. Chinese Universities ›› 2024, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (9): 20240142.doi: 10.7503/cjcu20240142

• Article: Inorganic Chemistry • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Preparation of Micron Plate Sm2O3 Fillers Reinforced High-density Polyethylene Composites for Neutron and Gamma Radiation Shielding

LU Yidong1,2, HUO Zhipeng1(), ZHANG Hong1, ZHONG Guoqiang1   

  1. 1.Institute of Plasma Physics,Hefei Institutes of Physical Science,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Hefei 230031,China
    2.Science Island Branch,Graduate School of University of Science and Technology of China,Hefei 230026,China
  • Received:2024-03-25 Online:2024-09-10 Published:2024-05-23
  • Contact: HUO Zhipeng E-mail:zhipeng.huo@ipp.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    the Anhui Province Ecological Environment Research Project, China(2023hb0017);the University Synergy Innovation Program of Anhui Province, China(GXXT-2022-001);the Comprehensive Research Facility for Fusion Technology Program of China(2018-000052-73-01-001228);the Programs of Institute of Energy, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, China(21KZL401)

Abstract:

Samarium oxide (Sm2O3)/boron carbide (B4C)/high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composites are respectively prepared by using synthesized Sm2O3 fillers (Sm2O3-I) and commercial Sm2O3 fillers (Sm2O3-II) for neutron and gamma radiation shielding. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns reveal that the phase of Sm2O3-I fillers is a cubic crystal system, body-centered cubic lattices, and its space group is Ia3¯(206). However, Sm2O3-II fillers have two phases. One is a monoclinic crystal system, simple monoclinic lattices, and its space is C2/m(12). The other one is a cubic crystal system, body-centered cubic lattices, and the space group is Ia3¯(206). Field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM) and specific surface area analyses reveal that the micromorphology of Sm2O3-I fillers is micron plate with silt and its Brunauer-Emmett-Teller(BET) specific surface area(SBET) is 5.15 m2/g, while irregularly shaped Sm2O3-II fillers have two kinds of micromorphology caused by the two phases of Sm2O3-II fillers, which are plate-like agglomeration and agglomeration without specific shape, and the SBET of Sm2O3-II fillers is 2.47 m2/g. The melting temperature (Tp) and yield strength (σy) of the synthesized Sm2O3-I/B4C/HDPE composites are respectively 140.6 °C and 22.6 MPa, which are better than the commercial Sm2O3-II/B4C/HDPE composites. The neutron and gamma radiation shielding tests reveal that the synthesized Sm2O3 fillers with even size and high BET-specific surface area can improve the neutron and gamma radiation shielding performance of composites. 10%Sm2O3-I/20%B4C/70%HDPE(mass fraction) with a thickness of 15 cm has a neutron radiation shielding rate of 98.4% under the 252Cf neutron source and a gamma radiation shielding rate of 71.7% under 137Cs gamma source.

Key words: Sm2O3, Composite material, Neutron, Gamma, Radiation shielding

CLC Number: 

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