Zirconium tungstate (Zr4W8O32)-doped zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) for gamma ray shielding: an in-depth examination of fabrication, characterizations, and gamma ray attenuation properties

The current work aims to synthesize new zirconium tungstate (Zr4W8O32)-doped ZrO2 composites for radiation shielding applications using the hydrothermal reaction process. The characterization of the synthesized composites was proved using various analysis techniques including X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The density of the synthesized Zr4W8O32-doped ZrO2 composites reduced between 5.15 and 4.98 g/cm3, with raising the W concentration between 13 and 28 wt%. Additionally, the average crystallite size proved by TEM analysis was determined as 27.7 nm and 33.2 nm, respectively, for composites ZW-1 and ZW-2. Furthermore, the Monte Carlo N-particle transport code (version-5) was applied to estimate the gamma ray shielding properties of the synthesized zirconium tungstate (Zr4W8O32)-doped ZrO2 composites. The linear attenuation coefficient for the synthesized composites showed variation between 104.50 and 0.200 cm−1 (for ZW-1 composite) and 92.35 and 0.196 cm−1 (for ZW-2 composite) when the gamma photon increased between 0.033 and 2.506 MeV. Therefore, the radiation protection efficiency for a 3 cm thickness of the synthesized composites reaches 54.27% and 53.57% for samples ZW-1 and ZW-2, respectively. As a result, the fabricated composites can be used to produce ceramics with high shielding properties to be used in radiation shielding applications.