| Novel shielding materials for photons based on silicon resin and WO3, PbO, and Bi2O3 Micro and Nano-particles
were designed and their mass attenuation coefficients were calculated using Monte Carlo (MC) method. Using
lattice cards in MCNPX code, micro and nanoparticles with sizes of 100 nm and 1 μm was designed inside a
silicon resin matrix. Narrow beam geometry was simulated to calculate the attenuation coefficients of samples
against mono-energetic beams of Co60 (1.17 and 1.33 MeV), Cs137 (663.8 KeV), and Ba133 (355.9 KeV). The
shielding samples made of nanoparticles had higher mass attenuation coefficients, up to 17% relative to those
made of microparticles. The superiority of nano-shields relative to micro-shields was dependent on the filler
concentration and the energy of photons. PbO, and Bi2O3 nanoparticles showed higher attenuation compared to
WO3 nanoparticles in studied energies. Fabrication of novel shielding materials using PbO, and Bi2O3 nanoparticles
is recommended for application in radiation protection against photon beams. |