New series of YBCO ceramics samples doping with different oxides such as SiO2, WO3, Al2O3, and TiO2 were fabricated to study the ionizing radiation shielding properties. The structure and morphology were explored by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The shielding properties were investigated experimentally and theoretically to check the validity of the results. The investigated radiation shielding properties include the proton, neutron, and gamma-ray. The XRD results show the orthorhombic structure for all ceramics without any additional peaks related to WO3, SiO2, TiO2, and Al2O3. At the same time, the SEM results appear to have a significant differentiation in the granular behavior of all ceramics surfaces. The incorporation of WO3 to YBCO enhanced the ceramic density, whereas the addition of different oxides reduced the density for ceramic samples. This variation in density changed the radiation shielding results. The sample containing WO3 (YBCO-W) gives us better results in radiation shielding properties for gamma and neutron; the sample having Al2O3 (YBCO-Al) is superior in shielding results for charged particles. Finally, the possibility to use YBCO with various oxides in different ionizing radiation shielding fields can be concluded.
Keywords: XRD; ceramic; morphology; neutron; proton; shielding properties.