Integrating the Structural, Dielectric, and Radiation Shielding Features of ZnO/Co Nanoparticles Filled PVA/PVP/PEG Blend for Energy Storage and Radiation Shielding Applications
Zein K. Heiba, Saif A. Mouhammad, Ali Badawi, Mohamed Bakr Mohamed
Abstract
The current work utilized the casting techniques to manufacture a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)/ polyethylene glycol (PEG) blend filled with nano ZnO/Co for uses in energy storage and radiation shielding. The subsequence of doping amount of ZnO/Co on the structural and morphological features of the host matrix was explored. Blend with 3 wt% ZnO/Co has the greatest dielectric constant and a c conductivity. The influence of filling percentage on the electric modulus and relaxation time of the host blended polymer was analyzed. All blended polymers’ relaxation mechanisms are shown by the non-Debye model. Doped polymers exhibited higher capacitance relative to the pure blend. The incorporation of ZnO/Co results in an elevation of the linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) and a marginal mass-attenuation coefficient (MAC) rise. The addition of varying quantities of nano ZnO/Co to the host blend led to half value layer (HVL) and tenth-value-layer (TVL) reduction. A doped blend with 5 wt% ZnO/Co is the most beneficial for shielding applications. 5 wt% ZnO/Co doped blend demonstrated the maximum fast neutron removal cross-section (FNRCS) value (0.136 cm −1 ) among all blends. At 0.1 MeV, energy absorption buildup factor (EABF) values at 40 mean-free-path (MFP) revealed a peak for the undoped blend (54987.68), ZnO/Co (1%) (45862.67), ZnO/Co (3 wt%) (38354.31), and ZnO/Co (5 wt%) (32535.23). The exposure buildup factor (EBF)-values demonstrate a peak at 0.1 MeV for the undoped blend (93991.58), ZnO/Co (1 wt%) (70910.70), ZnO/Co (3%) (52842.13), and ZnO/Co (5 wt%) (40308.90) at 40 MFP.