The Influence of Bi₂O₃ Nanoparticle Content on the γ-ray Interaction Parameters of Silicon Rubber

In this study, synthetic silicone rubber (SR) and Bi₂O₃ micro- and nanoparticles were purchased. The percentages for both sizes of Bi₂O₃ were 10, 20 and 30 wt% as fillers. The morphological, mechanical and shielding properties were determined for all the prepared samples. The Linear Attenuation Coefficient (LAC) values of the silicon rubber (SR) without Bi₂O₃ and with 5, 10, 30 and 30% Bi₂O₃ (in micro and nano sizes) were experimentally measured using different radioactive point sources in the energy range varying from 0.06 to 1.333 MeV. Additionally, we theoretically calculated the LAC for SR with micro-Bi₂O₃ using XCOM software. A good agreement was noticed between the two methods. The NaI (Tl) scintillation detector and four radioactive point sources (Am-241, Ba-133, Cs-137 and Co-60) were used in the measurements. Other shielding parameters were calculated for the prepared samples, such as the Half Value Layer (HVL), Mean Free Path (MFP) and Radiation Protection Efficiency (RPE), all of which proved that adding nano-Bi₂O₃ ratios of SR produces higher shielding efficiency than its micro counterpart.