Effect of tin oxide particle size on epoxy resin to form new composites against gamma radiation

The aim of the present study is to assess the shielding performance of a novel lead-free epoxide material against ionizing radiation. The effect of variation in particle size and concentration of tin oxide (SnO), which was added to epoxy resin polymer (ER), on its radiation shielding properties has been investigated in this research. Ten samples of ER samples incorporated with different concentrations (0%,20%,40%,60%) of SnO microparticles, nanoparticles, and both sizes combined were prepared and assessed. The linear attenuation coefficients (LAC) were measured experimentally through the collimated gamma-ray beam at 0.0595 MeV, 0.6617 MeV, 1.1730 MeV, and 1.330 MeV emitted from Am-241, Cs-137 and Co-60, respectively (to cover all energy range of gamma rays) for all samples with various concentrations and particle sizes of SnO. The other radiological shielding parameters such as half value layer (HVL), tenth value layer (TVL), and radiation protection efficiency (RPE) were estimated and compared for all different samples. The results prove that the increasing of the concentration and reducing the particle size of SnO leads to the enhancement of the radiation protection properties of the ER polymer. Moreover, it was observed that the incorporation of SnO micro- and nanoparticles together improves the radiation shielding properties of ER samples. Conclusively, the reinforcing of ER polymer material matrix by micro/nanoparticles of SnO as composite with enhanced radiation shielding specifications was highlighted.