Dielectric, and Radiation Shielding Investigations of Poly (Vinyl Alcohol)/Poly (Ethylene Glycol)/Zn0.75-xMnxCd0.25S Nanocomposites Polymeric Blend

Our research described in this paper focused on the development of blended polymers composed of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) doped with nano Zn0.75-xMnxCd0.25S, which can be used in radiation shielding and energy storage applications. The structure, dielectric and radiation shielding features of PVA/PEG/Zn0.75-xMnxCd0.25S composites were examined. The results revealed that the nano fillers were dispersed in the polymeric matrix with uniform distribution throughout the host blended polymer. The doped blend containing 10% Mn presented the maximum dielectric values. The linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) and mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) of each sample decreased with the increase of photon energy. As the concentration of Mn in the nanofiller was increased, the LAC and MAC values exhibited a small rise. The values of half value layer (HVL), tenth value layer (TVL) and mean free path (MFP) rose with the elevation of photon energy. At 15 MeV, the half-value layer (HVL) of the PVA/PEG blended polymer diminished from 32.05193 cm to 28.44283 cm, the tenth-value layer (TVL) declined from 106.47421 cm to 94.48504 cm and the mean free path (MFP) reduced from 46.24116 cm to 41.03433 cm when the filler included 20% manganese. The effective atomic number (Z(eff)) of the PVA/PEG blended polymer at 15 keV rose from 6.08397 to 6.59374 upon the incorporation of Zn0.65Mn0.2Cd0.25S in PVA/PEG blended polymer. The fast neutron removal cross-section (FNRCS) value was increased from 0.1141 cm(-1) (undoped blended polymer) to 0.12793 cm(-1) as the doped blended polymer with x = 0.2. The highest values of the exposure buildup factor (EBF) and energy absorption buildup factor (EABF) in the host blended polymer diminished with the incorporation of Zn0.75-xMnxCd0.25S fillers at any given MFP value.