Attenuation parameters of HDPE filled with different nano-size and bulk WO3 for X-ray shielding applications

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) was obtained through a compression molding technique, and incorporated with different filler weight fractions (10, 15, 25, and 35%) of bulk WO3, and two different WO3 nanoparticle sizes (45 and 24 nm). The radiation attenuation ability of the new category of polymer composite HDPE/WO3 was evaluated using X-rays of narrow-spectrum N-series range from 40 up to 200 kV. The synthesized composites with filler weight fractions of 15 and 35% were characterized by scanning electron microscope and energy-dispersive X-ray. The results showed that WO3 nanoparticles have uniform dispersion at low filler weight fractions in the polymer matrix, and confirmed that polymer composite was mainly composed of tungsten and carbon. The optimum thickness range is calculated and the HVL of the synthesized composites is compared with that of pure lead as a conventional shielding material. The apparent density values exhibited an outstanding effect of the size and weight fraction of WO3 filler on the attenuation parameters of HDPE composite. The linear and mass attenuation coefficients (mu and mu(m)), the total molecular cross-section sigma(mol), and the effective atomic cross-section a a i m were increased with the increase in WO3 wt% as well as the decrease in WO3 size. The total electronic cross-section sigma(el), the effective atomic number Z(eff), and electron density N(eff )were also increased with the increment in WO3 filler. HDPE composite filled with the smaller size of WO3 nanoparticle shows good improvement in the attenuation parameters, which suggests promising applications in radiation protection and diagnostic X-ray shielding.