Dielectric and radiation/neutron shielding properties for PVC/PEO/ZnO/Mn3O4/MnO blended polymer
摘要
The recent study aims to develop a poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC)-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) composite doped with ZnO/Mn3O4/MnO nanomaterials for applications in gamma ray attenuation, neutron shielding, and energy storage. Among all samples, the host blend containing 1 or 3 wt% ZnO/Mn3O4/MnO disclosed the highest dielectric constant. Upon loading the PVC/PEO with ZnO/Mn3O4/Mn, the conductivity diminished while the energy density and mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) were enhanced. The MAC value increased from 9.06 cm2/g for neat PVC/PEO to 41.60, 41.60, 41.60, and 41.60 cm2/g for samples doped with 1, 2, 3, and 4 wt% of ZnO/Mn3O4/MnO, respectively, at lower energy levels. Also, the value of linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) at 15 keV was markedly increased from 12.33 cm⁻1 to 58.38, 60.09, 61.81, and 63.53 for doped the PVC/PEO samples. Moreover, the half-value layer (HVL), tenth-value layer (TVL), and mean free path (MFP) values exhibited a decline with the increasing doping content from the ZnO/Mn3O4/MnO. The attenuation in MFP is more pronounced at low energy levels than at higher values. The composites containing 2 or 4 wt% ZnO/Mn3O4/MnO nanomaterials exhibited an increase in capacitance. The unloaded PVC/PEO sample exhibited a superior fast neutron removal cross-section (FNRCS) value in comparison to the filled counterparts. The buildup factors (EBF and EABF) of the PVC/PEO sample decreased with the addition of the ZnO/Mn3O4/MnO nanocomposite.