Impact of WO(3)-Nanoparticles on Silicone Rubber for Radiation Protection Efficiency

Silicone rubbers are a good choice for shielding materials because of having elastic and attenuating properties as well as cost-effectiveness. Thus, the aim of this study was to prepare ground-breaking silicone rubber samples by adding WO(3)-nanoparticles and testing the performance of their radiation shielding ability against Cs-137, Co-60, and Am-241 gamma energy. Increasing the concentration of WO(3) nanoparticles in silicone rubber (SR) led to decreasing the half-value layer (HVL) and mean free path (MFP) values determined for the samples tested. Furthermore, the values of MFP and HVL upsurged according to the enhancement of the photon energy. It is noteworthy that the prepared silicone rubber (SR) systems with 50 and 60 wt% concentrations of WO(3)-nanoparticles displayed lower HVL than the Bi(2)O(3)-containing silicone rubber (SR) systems. In the same way, studied silicone rubber SR-W60 represented the lowest HVL comprising iron ore containing silicone rubber.