Research on X-ray shielding performance of wearable Bi/Ce-natural leather composite materials

Natural leather (NL) based composite protection materials with lightweight, flexibility, wearability and high shielding efficiency will remarkably innovate the current research on X-ray protection materials. A co-doped Bi/Ce-NL composite with outstanding X-ray attenuation in the energy range of 20-120 keV is successfully fabricated. The uniform distribution of Bi2O3 and CeO2 nanoparticles in the hierarchical structure of natural leather significantly promotes the X-ray attenuation by improving the weak absorption region of Bi with Ce via synergistic effects of the two elements. The fabricated Bi/Ce-NL loading with 0.755 mmol cm(-3) Bi2O3 and 1.51 mmol cm(-3) CeO2 achieves approximately 100% X-ray shielding when the energy below 40 keV. Thus, the fabricated Bi/Ce-NL with superb X-ray attenuation can safely and comfortably protect human from the risk of Xray exposure with low bulk density, high water vapor permeability, exceptional mechanical properties and excellent bending resistance, presenting significant advantages in wearability and flexibility compared to both traditional lead-based and polymer-based protection materials.