First-principles simulation of radiation shielding performance in TaS₂-HDPE composites using Geant4.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nuclear Engineering
• Polymer Science

Background:

• Polymer composites with high atomic number fillers are explored as lightweight radiation shielding alternatives.
• Previous research investigated fillers like CdO, but tantalum disulfide (TaS2) in polymer composites for gamma-ray shielding remains unexamined.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the photon attenuation performance of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composites containing tantalum disulfide (TaS2).
• To evaluate TaS2-HDPE composites as potential next-generation radiation shielding materials.

Main Methods:

• Geant4 Monte Carlo simulations were employed to assess photon attenuation.
• XCOM data was used to validate the simulation results.
• Composites with varying wt% of TaS2 (10-50 wt%) were analyzed over an energy range of 0.06-2.0 MeV.

Main Results:

• The 50 wt% TaS2-HDPE composite demonstrated a significant mass attenuation coefficient of 2.88 ± 0.04 cm²/g at 80 keV, a 15.9 ± 0.21 times improvement over pure HDPE.
• Composites with 35, 20, and 10 wt% TaS2 showed photon attenuation enhancements of 11.55 ± 0.05, 7.07 ± 0.03, and 4.04 ± 0.02 times, respectively.
• TaS2-HDPE composites exhibited competitive or superior attenuation compared to micro-CdO-HDPE across the studied photon spectrum.

Conclusions:

• TaS2-HDPE composites present a tunable, non-toxic, and highly effective solution for gamma-ray shielding.
• These advanced materials hold promise for next-generation radiation shielding applications.
• The study fills a research gap by characterizing TaS2 for radiation shielding purposes.