Structural, mechanical and radiation shielding properties of lead and lead-free alloys doped with CuO nanoparticles for radiation protection

We examine four systems with different chemical compositions Pb-50Sn-0.5CuO, Pb-50Zn-0.5CuO(x), Sn-50Bi-0.5CuO and Sn-50Zn-0.5CuO prepared by the melt-spun technique. To obtain the morphological features of the prepared alloys, a scanning electron microscope, SEM, was utilized. The prepared samples were analyzed by using an analytical XRD tool to verify the lattice distortion, different identification phases and crystallite size for the examined alloys. The mechanical investigations including basic parameters such as microhardness, elastic moduli, ultimate tensile strength and toughness were analyzed using the Vickers microhardness technique and tensile test machine. The results showed that Pb-free alloys doped with CuO NPs had proper mechanical properties and shielding capability for as-prepared systems. It may be due to refined microstructures that could obstruct the dislocation movement. The radiation shielding parameters of as-prepared alloys are studied at photon energies of 0.511, 0.662 and 1.275 MeV. The lead-free alloys' doped CuO NPs can be superior shielding material than those of lead alloys. Therefore, the results indicated that the lead-free alloy compositions doped with CuO nanoparticles are recommended to exhibit maximum shielding efficiency. Hence, the Sn-50Bi-0.5CuO and Sn-50Zn-CuO alloys had excellent potential and could be applied as radiation shielding materials.