Gamma-ray attenuation parameters of HDPE filled with different nano-size and Bulk WO.

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) was obtained through a compression molding technique, and incorporated with different filler weight fractions (0, 10, 15, 25, and 35%) of bulk WO, and two different WO nanoparticle sizes (45 nm and 24 nm). The radiation attenuation ability of the new category of polymer composite HDPE/WO was evaluated using gamma-ray energies ranging from 59.53 up to 1332.5keV of four radioactive sources Am, Ba, Cs, and Co. The mass attenuation coefficients μ, the total molecular cross-section σ, the effective atomic cross-section σ, the total electronic cross-section σ, the effective atomic number Z, electron density N, the half value layer (HVL), the tenth value layer (TVL), and the relaxation length were investigated. The obtained results of the gamma-ray attenuation parameters exhibited an outstanding influence of the size and weight fraction of WO filler on the gamma-ray shielding ability of the HDPE composite. A significant improvement was detected at low gamma-ray energies. The HVL of the synthesized HDPE composites is compared with that of pure lead as a conventional shielding material. HDPE composite filled with the smaller size of WO nanoparticle shows good improvement in the attenuation parameters, which suggests promising applications in radiation protection and gamma-ray shielding.