Journal of Radiation Safety and Measurement

Journal of Radiation Safety and Measurement

Investigation of the Effect of ZnO Nano particle Concentration in Polyethylene on the Gamma-Ray Transmission Coefficient from 241Am and 137Cs Sources

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Somaye Salari
Hussain Tavakoli Anbaran
Faculty of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood, Semnan, Iran
10.22052/rsm.2026.257034.1136
Abstract
In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the development of lead-free shielding materials due to the high density and toxicity of lead. In this study, polyethylene-based nanocomposite shields were fabricated using ZnO nanoparticles, taking advantage of their light weight, low cost, and non-toxic nature as potential alternatives to lead shields. Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) with a density of 0.923 g/cm³ was first dissolved in xylene, and after complete solvent evaporation at room temperature, powdered polyethylene was obtained. ZnO nanoparticles were added in various weight concentrations under two different conditions: fixed mass and fixed volume. The mixtures were compressed into discs using a hydraulic press. These discs were then exposed to two gamma-ray sources: 241Am (0/059 MeV) and 137Cs (0/662 MeV). The incident gamma-ray intensity was measured using a NaI(Tl) scintillation detector. The linear attenuation coefficient (μ), half-value layer (HVL), and mean free path (MFP) were also analytically calculated using XCOM database. The results showed good agreement between theoretical (XCOM) and experimental values. It was also observed that ZnO nanoparticles, due to their relatively high atomic number and lower density compared to lead, offer promising shielding performance, particularly at lower photon energies.
Keywords
radiation shielding
gamma rays
nanocomposite
polyethylene
ZnO nanoparticles
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