Radiation shielding properties of polycarbonate/poly (methyle methacrylate) polymer blends comprising cobalt tin sulphide, zinc molybdate, and copper cobaltite oxide composites in photon beams

The present study focuses on the calculation of selected shielding parameters of polycarbonate/poly(methyl methacrylate), polycarbonate/poly (methyl methacrylate)/cobalt tin sulphide, polycarbonate/poly(methyl methacrylate)/zinc molybdate, and polycarbonate/ poly(methyl methacrylate)/copper cobaltite oxide composites exposed to photon beams, with the aim of developing effective lead-free shielding materials. The mass and linear attenuation coefficients were calculated using the Phy-X/PSD program and subsequently used to determine the half-value layer and tenth-value layer. Furthermore, the effective atomic number, effective electron density, mean free path, equivalent atomic number, and exposure buildup factor of the analysed samples were calculated. The shielding properties were evaluated across a photon energy range of 0.01-15 MeV. The results demonstrated that the polycarbonate /poly(methyl methacrylate)/cobalt tin sulphide composite exhibited the most effective shielding performance compared to the studied composites.