Microstructure investigation, Electrical properties, and γ-rays' protection capacity for ZnO doped clay ceramic

K A Mahmoud; Mazen Binmujlli; Fawzy H Sallam; M I Sayyed; Mohammad Marashdeh; Muthanna Abdulkarim

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111195

Microstructure investigation, Electrical properties, and γ-rays' protection capacity for ZnO doped clay ceramic

Appl Radiat Isot. 2024 Apr:206:111195. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111195. Epub 2024 Jan 23.

Authors

K A Mahmoud¹, Mazen Binmujlli², Fawzy H Sallam³, M I Sayyed⁴, Mohammad Marashdeh⁵, Muthanna Abdulkarim⁶

Affiliations

¹ Nuclear Materials Authority, Department of Geochemical Exploration, Cairo, Egypt; Ural Federal University, 19 Mira St, 620002, Yekaterinburg, Russia.
² Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), P.O. Box 90950, Riyadh, 11623, Saudi Arabia.
³ Nuclear Materials Authority, Department of Geochemical Exploration, Cairo, Egypt. Electronic address: fozsallam2010@yahoo.com.
⁴ Renewable Energy and Environmental Technology Center, University of Tabuk, Tabuk 47913, Saudi Arabia; Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Isra University, Amman, Jordan.
⁵ Department of Physics, College of Sciences, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), P.O. Box 90950, Riyadh, 11623, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Alfaisal University, P.O. Box 50927, Riyadh 11533, Saudi Arabia.

PMID: 38280278
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111195

Abstract

A series of ceramic samples fabricated based on ZnO doped different concentrations of natural clay according to the relation (1-x) ZnO - (x) clay; 5 wt% ≤ x ≤ 20 wt%. The samples were pressed and sintered at 1200 °C. The experimental techniques were used to characterize and measure the chemical composition, density, and current-voltage measurements for the fabricated ceramics samples. The measurements depict an increase in the I-V nonlinearity with raising the clay concentration, where the increase in clay by up to 20 wt% shifts breakdown voltage to a higher value of up to 390 V/cm and decreases leakage current to 55 mA/cm². The examinations for the gamma-ray shielding capacity for the fabricated composites (utilizing Monte Carlo simulation) demonstrate enrichment of clay concentration between 5 wt% and 20 wt% reduced the linear attenuation coefficient for the fabricated ceramics by 23.15% and 8.66% at γ photon energy of 0.059 MeV and 1.252 MeV, respectively. The half-value thickness and lead's equivalent thickness increased along with a drop in the linear attenuation coefficient, but the radiation protection effectiveness of the fabricated ceramics increased.

Keywords: Electrical properties; Gamma-ray shielding; Microstructure characterizations; ZnO doped clay ceramics.