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Design and evaluation of multi-layer polybenzoxazine composites for enhanced gamma and neutron shielding

  • Hasan Oğul EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: September 8, 2025
Radiochimica Acta
From the journal Radiochimica Acta

Abstract

This study investigates the gamma and neutron shielding performance of novel polybenzoxazine (PBz) based composites reinforced with Mo2C, Boron, and WS2 additives. The additives are mixed into the matrix at various mass ratios and then each sample is evaluated in terms of radiation interactions. A three-layered shielding structure was further designed with PBz-Mo2C-25 as the front layer, PBz-B-25 as the intermediate layer, and PBz-WS2-25 as the rear layer. The obtained results show that multi-layer configuration, PBz-3L, further enhanced low-energy neutron attenuation, achieving substantially greater reductions in thermal and epithermal flux compared to single-layer Mo2C- and WS2-reinforced composites. For photons, the multilayer structure achieves radiation protection efficiency (RPE) values exceeding 99 % at low gamma energies. Total ionizing dose (TID) and displacement per atom (DPA) analyses are also reported. These findings confirm the superior shielding capability of the three-layer composite, highlighting its potential for advanced radiation protection applications in nuclear and aerospace environments.

Keywords: molybdenum carbide; multilayer shielding design; polybenzoxazine; radiation damage
Corresponding author: Hasan OĞUL, Department of Nuclear Engineering, Sinop University, Sinop, Türkiye, E-mail:

  1. Research ethics: Not applicable.

  2. Informed consent: Not applicable.

  3. Author contributions: The author has accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.

  4. Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.

  5. Conflict of interest: The author states no conflict of interest.

  6. Research funding: None declared.

  7. Data availability: The author states no conflict of interest.

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Received: 2025-07-17
Accepted: 2025-08-27
Published Online: 2025-09-08

© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

https://doi.org/10.1515/ract-2025-0067
Keywords for this article
molybdenum carbide; multilayer shielding design; polybenzoxazine; radiation damage
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