Investigation of the Gamma-ray Shielding Performance of CuO-CdO-Bi2O3 Bentonite Ceramics

Hanan Al-Ghamdi; Mohamed Elsafi; Aljawhara H Almuqrin; Sabina Yasmin; M I Sayyed

doi:10.3390/ma15155310

Investigation of the Gamma-ray Shielding Performance of CuO-CdO-Bi₂O₃ Bentonite Ceramics

Materials (Basel). 2022 Aug 2;15(15):5310. doi: 10.3390/ma15155310.

Authors

Hanan Al-Ghamdi¹, Mohamed Elsafi², Aljawhara H Almuqrin¹, Sabina Yasmin³, M I Sayyed⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physics, College of Science, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia.
² Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21511, Egypt.
³ Department of Physics, Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology, Chattogram 4349, Bangladesh.
⁴ Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Isra University, Amman 11622, Jordan.

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to identify the radiation shielding capability of ceramics adding CuO, CdO, and Bi₂O₃ with diverse wt (%). The chemical compositions of the raw ceramics were documented through Energy Dispersive X-ray "EDX" techniques. For aesthetic appeal and solidification, CuO has been chosen to be added to ceramic. Moreover, in the interest of increasing the radiation shielding ability, the high atomic number and density of both CdO and Bi₂O₃ were suggested for the raw ceramics. To obtain the morphological features of the prepared ceramic samples, a Scanning Electron Microscope, or SEM, was utilized. To verify the experimental results, the MCA value obtained from the Phy-X software was compared to the experimental value collected from the HPGe detector. At energies 0.06 MeV, 0.662 MeV, 1.173 MeV, and 1.333 MeV the linear and mass attenuation coefficients of the prepared ceramics have been measured using a high purity germanium "HPGe" detector as well as three different point sources. Moreover, the relationship between ln(I) and the thickness of the ceramics has been presented here, and the comparison between the LAC of the prepared ceramics with other materials has also been displayed. Bentonite ceramic containing CuO (15 mol %)-CdO (15 mol %)-Bi₂O₃ (20 mol %) with density 3.6 showed the lowest HVL, MFP, and TVL at all studied energies, yet pure Bentonite ceramic containing only CuO (50 mol %), having density 3.4, presented the greatest values. Hence, it can be concluded that the addition of CdO and Bi₂O₃ enhances the radiation shielding ability.

Keywords: Bi2O3; Energy Dispersive X-ray; HPGe detector; bentonite; ceramics; radiation shielding.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University Researchers Supporting Project number (PNURSP2022R28), Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.