A binary composite material of nano polyaniline intercalated with Nano-Fe2O3 for enhancing gamma-radiation-shielding properties: Experimental and simulation study

In this work, (Nano-Fe2O3), Nano Polyaniline (NPANI), and a 50%-50% mixture (NPANI + Nano-Fe2O3) samples have been synthesized and implemented towards nuclear radiation attenuation. The synthesized samples have been characterized using Fourier transform- Infrared, X-ray diffraction, and Scanning Electron Microscope. Then, their radiation shielding properties were established using Monte Carlo simulation code and Phy-X/PSD software in the energy range of photon energies of 0.015 MeV-15 MeV. Also, the synthesized samples were investigated experimentally using a hyper-pure germanium detector for 133Ba, 137Cs, and 60Co at selected photon energies of 0.356, 0.661, 1.173, and 1.332 MeV. The linear attenuation coefficient, mean free path, half-value layer, tenthvalue layer, and effective atomic number were calculated to determine the radiation shielding characteristics of the synthesized nanocomposite sample. The linear attenuation coefficient (mu) values varied from 83.332 cm-1 to 0.057 cm-1 for the Nano-Fe2O3 sample, 1.412 cm-1 to 0.03 cm-1 for the NPANI sample, and 38.945 to 0.043 cm-1 for the NPANI + Nano- Fe2O3 sample. The results showed that the linear attenuation of the Nano-Fe2O3 sample was highest due to the increased concentration of Fe element (69% w.t.). The fast neutron removal crosssections for the three synthesis samples, NPANI, NPANI + Nano-Fe2O3, and Nano-Fe2O3 were 0.155 cm-1, 0.111 cm-1, and 0.056 cm- 1, respectively. The NPANI sample was higher than other synthetic samples and those of some commercial glass, polymer, and concrete samples.