Thumwong Arkarapol, Chinnawet Manchusa, Intarasena Preawpraw, Rattanapongs Chanis, Tokonami Shinji, Ishikawa Tetsuo, Saenboonruang Kiadtisak
Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand.
Department of Applied Radiation and Isotopes, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand.
Polymers (Basel). 2022 Sep 2;14(17):3654. doi: 10.3390/polym14173654.
This work experimentally determined the X-ray shielding and morphological, density, and tensile properties of sulfur-vulcanized natural rubber latex (SVNRL) nanocomposites containing varying content of nano-BiO or nano-BaSO from 0 to 200 phr in 100 phr increments, with modified procedures in sample preparation to overcome the insufficient strength of the samples found in other reports. The experimental X-ray shielding results, which were numerically verified using a web-based software package (XCOM), indicated that the overall X-ray attenuation abilities of the SVNRL nanocomposites generally increased with increasing filler content, with the 0.25-mm-thick SVNRL films containing 200 phr of the filler providing the highest overall X-ray shielding properties, as evidenced by the highest values of lead equivalence (Pb) of 0.0371 mmPb and 0.0326 mmPb in BiO/SVNRL nanocomposites, and 0.0326 mmPb and 0.0257 mmPb in BaSO/SVNRL nanocomposites, for 60 kV and 100 kV X-rays, respectively. The results also revealed that the addition of either filler increased the tensile modulus at 300% elongation (M300) and density but decreased the tensile strength and the elongation at break of the BiO/SVNRL and BaSO/SVNRL nanocomposites. In addition, the modified procedures introduced in this work enabled the developed nanocomposites to acquire sufficient mechanical and X-ray shielding properties for potential use as medical X-ray protective gloves, with the recommended content of BiO and BaSO being in the range of 95-140 phr and 105-120 phr, respectively (in accordance with the requirements outlined in ASTM D3578-19 and the value of Pb being greater than 0.02 mmPb). Consequently, based on the overall outcomes of this work, the developed BiO/SVNRL and BaSO/SVNRL nanocomposites show great potential for effective application in medical X-ray protective gloves, while the modified procedures could possibly be adopted for large-scale production.
本研究通过实验测定了含不同含量纳米BiO或纳米BaSO₄（含量从0到200 phr，以100 phr递增）的硫黄硫化天然橡胶胶乳（SVNRL）纳米复合材料的X射线屏蔽性能以及形态、密度和拉伸性能。在样品制备过程中采用了改进程序，以克服其他报告中发现的样品强度不足的问题。通过基于网络的软件包（XCOM）进行数值验证的实验X射线屏蔽结果表明，SVNRL纳米复合材料的整体X射线衰减能力通常随填料含量的增加而增强。对于60 kV和100 kV的X射线，含200 phr填料的0.25毫米厚的SVNRL薄膜具有最高的整体X射线屏蔽性能，在BiO/SVNRL纳米复合材料中铅当量（Pb）的最高值分别为0.0371 mmPb和0.0326 mmPb，在BaSO₄/SVNRL纳米复合材料中分别为0.0326 mmPb和0.0257 mmPb。结果还表明，添加任何一种填料都会提高300%伸长率时的拉伸模量（M300）和密度，但会降低BiO/SVNRL和BaSO₄/SVNRL纳米复合材料的拉伸强度和断裂伸长率。此外，本研究中引入的改进程序使开发的纳米复合材料获得了足够的机械性能和X射线屏蔽性能，有潜力用作医用X射线防护手套，BiO和BaSO₄的推荐含量分别在95 - 140 phr和105 - 120 phr范围内（符合ASTM D3578 - 19中概述的要求，且Pb值大于0.02 mmPb）。因此，基于本研究的总体结果，开发的BiO/SVNRL和BaSO₄/SVNRL纳米复合材料在医用X射线防护手套中具有巨大的有效应用潜力，同时改进程序可能适用于大规模生产。
