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Polymeric composite materials for radiation shielding: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters 2021 584 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 55 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Chaitali V. More, Zainab Alsayed, Mohamed S. Badawi, Abouzeid A. Thabet, Pravina P. Pawar

Summary

Researchers reviewed polymer-based composite materials for radiation shielding, assessing how high-atomic-number nanofillers embedded in polymer matrices can produce lightweight, flexible shields effective against neutrons and gamma rays, and examined pathways for recycling such composites.

The rising use of radioactive elements is increasing radioactive pollution and calling for advanced materials to protect individuals. For instance, polymers are promising due to their mechanical, electrical, thermal, and multifunctional properties. Moreover, composites made of polymers and high atomic number fillers should allow to obtain material with low-weight, good flexibility, and good processability. Here we review the synthesis of polymer materials for radiation protection, with focus on the role of the nanofillers. We discuss the effectivness of polymeric materials for the absorption of fast neutrons. We also present the recycling of polymers into composites.

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