Experimental and theoretical calculation of the radiation shielding values of some metal containing composites

Living beings are exposed to radiation throughout their lives in many areas, especially medical, agricultural and industrial areas, as well as natural radiation sources. With the development of technology, the use of radioactive sources and radiation is increasing. The use of ionizing radiation, especially for diagnosis and treatment purposes in medicine, is increasing day by day. Ionizing radiation causes biological effects in living organisms. To minimize the effects and damage caused by gamma rays, which are a type of ionizing radiation, materials are being developed for shielding purposes as well as dose limitation. For this reason, in the study, different ratios of CuO, ZnO, TiO2, ZrB2 and PbO nano powders were coated on glass materials using a spin coater with the sol-gel method. The radiation shielding properties of the coated samples were examined with a gamma spectrometer with NaI(Tl) detector at energies of 511keV, 662 keV, 1173 keV, 1274 keV and 1332 keV using Na-22, Cs-137 and Co-60 radioactive sources. As a result of the study, the linear absorption coefficient of the glasses consisting of 50%PbO.50%CuO and 50%TiO2PbO. 30%CuO.10%ZrB2.10%TiO2 mixtures was found to be high in the additives made to PbO. The linear absorption coefficients obtained experimentally were calculated theoretically using GATE and XCOM programs and compared with experimental data. It has been observed that the obtained theoretical data and experimental data are compatible with each other.