Processing and properties of boron carbide (B4C) reinforced LDPE composites for radiation shielding

Suna Avcıoğlu; Merve Buldu; Figen Kaya; Cem Bülent Üstündağ; Erol Kam; Yusuf Ziya Menceloğlu; Hayri Yılmaz Kaptan; Cengiz Kaya

doi:10.1016/j.ceramint.2019.08.268

Processing and properties of boron carbide (B₄C) reinforced LDPE composites for radiation shielding

Suna Avcıoğlu, Merve Buldu, Figen Kaya, Cem Bülent Üstündağ, Erol Kam, Yusuf Ziya Menceloğlu, Hayri Yılmaz Kaptan, Cengiz Kaya^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

59 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In the present work, boron carbide (B₄C) particles were synthesized with sol-gel technique following with heat treatment at 1500 °C in an argon atmosphere. 3-(Triethoxysilyl)-propylamine, a silane coupling agent, was doped on to the surface of synthesized B₄C particles. The surface modified B₄C particles were embedded in LDPE matrix in order to obtain flexible, lightweight and environmentally friendly shielding materials. The effect of surface functionalization and concentration of boron carbide on its distribution characteristics in the polymer matrix and its effects on the mechanical and neutron shielding properties of the composites are examined. The results showed that high purity-fully crystalline B₄C powders with polyhedral-equiaxed morphology in the size range of 20 nm–500 nm were produced. It was found that even the very low amount (0.6–1.7 wt%) of incorporated nano/sub-micron B₄C particles in LDPE matrix improved the neutron shielding (up to 39%), tensile strength (9.3%) and impact resistance (8%) of the composites.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	343-352
Number of pages	10
Journal	Ceramics International
Volume	46
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2019.08.268
Publication status	Published - Jan 2020
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l.

Funding

The authors are grateful for the financial support from The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey ( TUBITAK ) and Yıldız Technical University under the contract numbers of 216M140 , 216M145 and FDK-2017-3138 , respectively. The authors are grateful for the financial support from The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) and Y?ld?z Technical University under the contract numbers of 216M140, 216M145 and FDK-2017-3138, respectively.

Funders	Funder number
TUBITAK
Y?ld?z Technical University
Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştirma Kurumu
Yildiz Teknik Üniversitesi	216M140, FDK-2017-3138, 216M145

Keywords

Boron carbide
Composite
LDPE
Mechanical properties
Neutron shielding
Sol-gel

Access to Document

10.1016/j.ceramint.2019.08.268

Cite this

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title = "Processing and properties of boron carbide (B4C) reinforced LDPE composites for radiation shielding",

abstract = "In the present work, boron carbide (B4C) particles were synthesized with sol-gel technique following with heat treatment at 1500 °C in an argon atmosphere. 3-(Triethoxysilyl)-propylamine, a silane coupling agent, was doped on to the surface of synthesized B4C particles. The surface modified B4C particles were embedded in LDPE matrix in order to obtain flexible, lightweight and environmentally friendly shielding materials. The effect of surface functionalization and concentration of boron carbide on its distribution characteristics in the polymer matrix and its effects on the mechanical and neutron shielding properties of the composites are examined. The results showed that high purity-fully crystalline B4C powders with polyhedral-equiaxed morphology in the size range of 20 nm–500 nm were produced. It was found that even the very low amount (0.6–1.7 wt%) of incorporated nano/sub-micron B4C particles in LDPE matrix improved the neutron shielding (up to 39%), tensile strength (9.3%) and impact resistance (8%) of the composites.",

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author = "Suna Avcıoğlu and Merve Buldu and Figen Kaya and {\"U}st{\"u}ndağ, {Cem B{\"u}lent} and Erol Kam and Menceloğlu, {Yusuf Ziya} and Kaptan, {Hayri Yılmaz} and Cengiz Kaya",

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year = "2020",

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doi = "10.1016/j.ceramint.2019.08.268",

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AU - Avcıoğlu, Suna

AU - Buldu, Merve

AU - Kaya, Figen

AU - Üstündağ, Cem Bülent

AU - Kam, Erol

AU - Menceloğlu, Yusuf Ziya

AU - Kaptan, Hayri Yılmaz

AU - Kaya, Cengiz

PY - 2020/1

Y1 - 2020/1

N2 - In the present work, boron carbide (B4C) particles were synthesized with sol-gel technique following with heat treatment at 1500 °C in an argon atmosphere. 3-(Triethoxysilyl)-propylamine, a silane coupling agent, was doped on to the surface of synthesized B4C particles. The surface modified B4C particles were embedded in LDPE matrix in order to obtain flexible, lightweight and environmentally friendly shielding materials. The effect of surface functionalization and concentration of boron carbide on its distribution characteristics in the polymer matrix and its effects on the mechanical and neutron shielding properties of the composites are examined. The results showed that high purity-fully crystalline B4C powders with polyhedral-equiaxed morphology in the size range of 20 nm–500 nm were produced. It was found that even the very low amount (0.6–1.7 wt%) of incorporated nano/sub-micron B4C particles in LDPE matrix improved the neutron shielding (up to 39%), tensile strength (9.3%) and impact resistance (8%) of the composites.

AB - In the present work, boron carbide (B4C) particles were synthesized with sol-gel technique following with heat treatment at 1500 °C in an argon atmosphere. 3-(Triethoxysilyl)-propylamine, a silane coupling agent, was doped on to the surface of synthesized B4C particles. The surface modified B4C particles were embedded in LDPE matrix in order to obtain flexible, lightweight and environmentally friendly shielding materials. The effect of surface functionalization and concentration of boron carbide on its distribution characteristics in the polymer matrix and its effects on the mechanical and neutron shielding properties of the composites are examined. The results showed that high purity-fully crystalline B4C powders with polyhedral-equiaxed morphology in the size range of 20 nm–500 nm were produced. It was found that even the very low amount (0.6–1.7 wt%) of incorporated nano/sub-micron B4C particles in LDPE matrix improved the neutron shielding (up to 39%), tensile strength (9.3%) and impact resistance (8%) of the composites.

KW - Boron carbide

KW - Composite

KW - LDPE

KW - Mechanical properties

KW - Neutron shielding

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