Study of gamma radiation shielding efficiency with radiation-resistant Bi2O3-TeO2-WO3 ceramics
Graphical abstract
Introduction
As is known, one of the best ways to screen X-ray, gamma and electron radiation is to create protective screens based on lead or boron-containing concrete. However, the toxicity of lead, as well as its hazard to the environment, leaves big questions about its widespread use and the search for alternative shielding methods. In turn, the disadvantages of concrete protective blocks include the formation of microcracks during operation and natural aging, heterogeneity in composition, which is associated with the production and manufacture of blocks, as well as water absorption and low moisture resistance in case of mechanical damage to the surface [[1], [2], [3], [4], [5]].
Alternative options for shielding at this stage of development are glasses or ceramics containing Bi, Ba, W, Te, Zr, Gd and other elements [6,7]. Moreover, the choice of components is primarily due to the large Z, high electron density, mass attenuation coefficient, optical transparency, etc. In turn, glasses and ceramics with all these properties are alternative materials for shielding and reducing the penetrating power of gamma and X-ray radiation [[8], [9], [10]].
The prospect of amorphous and amorphous-like glasses for shielding gamma and electron radiation was investigated in a series of scientific works by M.I. Sayyed et al. [[11], [12], [13], [14], [15], [16], [17]], in which, both theoretically and experimentally, the efficiency of radiation shielding by such materials as BaO/SiO–Bi2O3–B2O3 [11], Bi2O3/MoO [12], WO3–TeO2–PbO [13] et al. At the same time, as many authors note, the ease of obtaining glasses and ceramics, as well as the possibility of varying the phase and elemental composition, opens up broad prospects for these materials as a basis for shielding materials that can significantly compete with traditional materials based on lead or concrete [[18], [19], [20]].
In this work, the prospects of using mechanochemical synthesis and subsequent thermal sintering to obtain ceramics of the Bi2O3-TeO2-WO3 type are considered, as well as the assessment of the shielding efficiency of the resulting ceramics of gamma radiation. The difference between this work and the already known ones is that the experimentally selected synthesis conditions and subsequent thermal sintering make it possible to obtain ceramics with a stable Bi2Te2W3O16 phase, while in most works the samples under study are amorphous or amorphous-like structures. However, as the authors of the works note, the phase and elemental composition can play a significant role in shielding [[15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20]].
Bi2O3-TeO2-WO3 ceramics obtained using the method of mechanochemical synthesis and subsequent thermal annealing at a temperature of 600 °C for 5 h and subsequent cooling together with a muffle furnace for 24 h were chosen as the test samples. The mechanochemical synthesis was carried out by mixing components Bi2O3, TeO2, WO3 in equal stoichiometric proportions in a planetary mill for 1 h at 400 rpm. All components were purchased from Sigma Aldrich and were 99.9% pure. To assess the efficiency of shielding of ionizing radiation, the synthesized ceramics were pressed into films of various thicknesses varying from 0.1 to 0.4 mm.
The morphology of the synthesized ceramics was studied using scanning electron microscopy (JEOL-7500F at an accelerating voltage of 5.0 kV) and transmission electron microscopy (JEOL JEM-1400 Plus, Acceleration voltage 120 kV). The study of the phase and elemental composition of the synthesized ceramics was carried out using the methods of energy dispersive analysis and X-ray diffraction. Energy dispersive analysis was performed on a Hitachi TM3030 scanning electron microscope at an accelerating voltage of 15 keV. The phase analysis, as well as the assessment of the structural characteristics were carried out on a D8 Advance Eco powder X-ray diffractometer in the Current = 25 mA, Voltage = 40 kV and shooting mode 2θ = 20–90°, with a step of θ = 0.03° and a spectrum acquisition time at point 3 s.
Gamma radiation shielding efficiency was estimated using three sources of gamma quantum Co57 (136 keV), Cs137 (661 keV), Na22 (1274 keV). A NaI detector located 10 cm from the gamma quantum source was used for detection. The exposure time of the spectrum set for all studied ceramics thicknesses was 1 h. The shielding efficiency was estimated by determining the attenuation coefficient of the spectral line intensity depending on the thickness of the ceramics.
Section snippets
Results and discussion
Fig. 1 shows the data on the distribution of elements in the structure of ceramics obtained using the mapping method and the elemental composition in the samples under study. According to the data obtained, the distribution of the elements W, Bi, Te, and O in the structure is isotropic, with a slight predominance of W in the structure of ceramics.
Fig. 2 shows the results of X-ray phase analysis of the studied ceramics, obtained using the powder diffraction method in the geometry of the
Conclusion
The paper considers the effectiveness of using Bi2O3-TeO2-WO3 ceramics for shielding gamma radiation with an energy of 130–1270 keV. The synthesis of ceramics was carried out by mechanochemical stirring and subsequent sintering at a temperature of 600 °C for 5 h. The study of structural features, phase and elemental composition was carried out using methods of raster and transmission microscopy, X-ray diffraction and energy dispersion analysis. Comparative analysis of the element ratio and
Credit author statement
A. Temir, Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation; Methodology, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. K. Trukhanov, Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis. A. Kozlovskiy, Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation; Methodology, Software, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. M.V. Zdorovets, Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Investigation; Methodology, Project
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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