A Comparative Study on X-ray Shielding and Mechanical Properties of Natural Rubber Latex Nanocomposites Containing Bi2O3 or BaSO4: Experimental and Numerical Determination

Arkarapol Thumwong; Manchusa Chinnawet; Preawpraw Intarasena; Chanis Rattanapongs; Shinji Tokonami; Tetsuo Ishikawa; Kiadtisak Saenboonruang

doi:10.3390/polym14173654

A Comparative Study on X-ray Shielding and Mechanical Properties of Natural Rubber Latex Nanocomposites Containing Bi₂O₃ or BaSO₄: Experimental and Numerical Determination

Polymers (Basel). 2022 Sep 2;14(17):3654. doi: 10.3390/polym14173654.

Authors

Arkarapol Thumwong¹, Manchusa Chinnawet², Preawpraw Intarasena², Chanis Rattanapongs², Shinji Tokonami³, Tetsuo Ishikawa⁴, Kiadtisak Saenboonruang^{2

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Affiliations

¹ Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand.
² Department of Applied Radiation and Isotopes, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand.
³ Institute of Radiation Emergency Medicine, Hirosaki University, Aomori 0368564, Japan.
⁴ Department of Radiation Physics and Chemistry, Fukushima Medical University, Hikarigaoka 9601295, Japan.
⁵ Kasetsart University Research and Development Institute (KURDI), Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand.
⁶ Specialized Center of Rubber and Polymer Materials in Agriculture and Industry (RPM), Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand.
⁷ Special Research Unit of Radiation Technology for Advanced Materials (RTAM), Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand.

Abstract

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-Bi₂O₃ or nano-BaSO₄ 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_eq) of 0.0371 mmPb and 0.0326 mmPb in Bi₂O₃/SVNRL nanocomposites, and 0.0326 mmPb and 0.0257 mmPb in BaSO₄/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 Bi₂O₃/SVNRL and BaSO₄/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 Bi₂O₃ and BaSO₄ 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_eq being greater than 0.02 mmPb). Consequently, based on the overall outcomes of this work, the developed Bi₂O₃/SVNRL and BaSO₄/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.

Keywords: BaSO4; Bi2O3; X-ray shielding; gloves; mechanical properties; natural rubber latex.

Grants and funding

FF(KU)25.64/Kasetsart University Research and Development Institute