Synthesis and characterization of Al₂O₃ NPs/epichlorohydrin nanocomposites for enhanced gamma-ray shielding...

In this work, Al₂O₃ nanopowder was synthesized using the DC reactive sputtering technique and its structural characteristics were examined. According to the FE-SEM, the average particle size ranged from 25 to 35 nm, with approximately spherical shape and uniform distribution of particles. This nanopowder was embedded into a transparent epichlorohydrin resin to fabricate nanocomposites intended for gamma-ray shielding applications. The relative protection efficiency (RPE) was found to decrease with increasing gamma-ray energy, as well as with higher Al₂O₃ nanoparticles content in the nanocomposite. The prepared nanocomposite samples, with thicknesses ranging from 0.3 to 1.5 cm and nanoparticles contents between 0.05 and 7 wt%, exhibited RPE values of 3-17 %. A slight decrease in half-value layer (HVL) and tenth-value layer (TVL) was observed as the nanoparticles content increased from 0.5 to 7 wt%, confirming the enhanced radiation attenuation capability of the prepared nanocomposites.