Effects of bismuth-embedded wood particles on mechanical, physical, and gamma-shielding properties of wood/poly(vinyl chloride) composites

This work determined gamma-shielding, impact strength, water absorption, morphological, and physical properties of wood/poly(vinyl chloride) (WPVC) composites containing varying contents of bismuth (Bi)-embedded wood particles (Bi-wood) for potential utilization as effective gamma-shielding materials. The shielding properties indicated that the abilities of the fabricated WPVC composites to attenuate 0.662 MeV gamma rays emitted from 137Cs were noticeably enhanced by increasing the contents of Bi through the added bismuth chloride (BiCl3), as shown by the increase in the linear attenuation coefficient (µ) and the decrease in the gamma transmission ratio (I/I0), the half value layer (HVL), and the tenth value layer (TVL) of the composites. By comparing the shielding properties of the 2 cm sample in this work with a commercially available shielding material, the recommended wood-to-BiCl3 ratio by weight for the preparation of the Bi-wood was 30:70. Furthermore, the results revealed that the BiCl3 loading generally increased the density and hardness (shore D) but decreased the impact strength and water absorption of the WPVC composites. Lastly, the investigation on gamma aging showed that gamma irradiation generally reduced the impact strength and hardness (Shore D) but barely affected gamma shielding or the color of the samples. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.