Abstract Novel neutron shielding material based on borated high-density polyethylene (HDPE) was prepared in this study. In order to enhance the shielding efficacy of borated HDPE, nano particles of high neutron capture cross section material i.e. of cadmium oxide (CdO) were used as neutron absorber. The CdO nano particles were prepared with composite hydroxide mediated (CHM) method and tested with X-ray diffraction to ensure their structural parameters. The grain sizes of CdO sample obtained from reflection peaks at 2θ = 30.39˚ and 23.52˚ were 24.9 nm and 36.1 nm, respectively. The corresponding hkl values and lattice spacing for above-mentioned reflection peaks were found (111) & (110) and 0.29 & 0.38, respectively. These nano scale CdO particles were then mixed in HDPE/B4C composite (containing 10% by wt. of B4C) in predetermining concentrations (i.e. 1%, 2%, and 4% by wt.). The admixture were then pressed in sheets and tested for structural stability and neutron shielding efficacy. The structural stability analysis with FTIR revealed the fact there was no significant alteration in HDPE structure on addition of CdO. The values of effective mass removal cross sections from neutron shielding measurements were 0.1567cm2g-1, 0.1906cm2g-1, and 0.1634cm2g-1 for composites containing 1%, 2%, and 4% CdO, respectively. Furthermore, among all, composite with 2% CdO has been observed of having best shielding properties as it contained the appropriate amount of all the constituents. The higher neutron capture cross section of CdO nano particles was attributed for this significant increase in shielding efficacy of HDPE/B4C/CdO nano composites as compared to pure HDPE and HDPE/B4C composites.

中文翻译：

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研究添加CdO纳米颗粒对HDPE中子屏蔽效能的影响

摘要 本研究制备了基于硼化高密度聚乙烯（HDPE）的新型中子屏蔽材料。为了提高硼酸化 HDPE 的屏蔽效能，高中子捕获截面材料，即氧化镉 (CdO) 的纳米颗粒被用作中子吸收剂。CdO纳米颗粒采用复合氢氧化物介导（CHM）方法制备，并通过X射线衍射测试以确保其结构参数。从 2θ = 30.39° 和 23.52° 处的反射峰获得的 CdO 样品的晶粒尺寸分别为 24.9 nm 和 36.1 nm。上述反射峰的相应 hkl 值和晶格间距分别为 (111) & (110) 和 0.29 & 0.38。然后将这些纳米级 CdO 颗粒混合在 HDPE/B4C 复合材料中（含有 10% 的重量百分比）。B4C) 以预先确定的浓度（即 1%、2% 和 4% 重量）。然后将混合物压成片并测试结构稳定性和中子屏蔽功效。使用 FTIR 进行的结构稳定性分析表明，添加 CdO 后 HDPE 结构没有显着改变。对于含有 1%、2% 和 4% CdO 的复合材料，中子屏蔽测量的有效质量去除截面值分别为 0.1567cm2g-1、0.1906cm2g-1 和 0.1634cm2g-1。此外，其中含有 2% CdO 的复合材料具有最好的屏蔽性能，因为它包含适量的所有成分。