Radiation shielding capabilities and mechanical attributes of Styrene Butadiene Rubber-boron carbide based composites

The current work aims to assess the properties of gamma, neutron, electron, and ion interaction features through Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) composites with 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 wt% B 4 C. The SBR composites, coded SBR0, SBR10, SBR20, SBR30, and SBR40, had densities ranging from 0.92 to 1.56 g/cm 3 . Additionally, the rheometric, mechanical, and morphological characteristics of SBR rubber-B 4 C composites were investigated. The effectiveness of gamma attenuation was experimentally assessed using 137 Cs and 60 Co radiation sources and a NaI(Tl) detector. Using PAGEX software, gamma attenuation parameters were also computed across a broad gamma energy range (0.015-30 MeV). The relative variation did not exceed 10.1398%, indicating a satisfactory agreement between the experimental, Phy-X/PSD-calculated linear attenuation coefficients (LAC).A typical agreement between the calculated mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) using MATXCOM and Py-MLBUF software. The NIST Center of Neutron Research, Phy-X/PSD, and MRCScal software are used to assess the neutron attenuation capabilities. For H + , He 2+ , and electrons, the mass stopping power (MSP) and mass scattering cross section (MSCS) were calculated using PAGEX software. Using ESTAR NIST software, the mean excitation energy (I) of accelerated electrons was also computed. The SBR40 and SBR0 composites had the highest and lowest experimental LAC values at 0.6617 MeV gamma energy, respectively, at 0.1233 and 0.0856 cm −1 . Furthermore, at 0.1235, 0.14308, and 18.8280 cm −1 , respectively, the SBR40 composite has the highest FNRCS, MRCS, and thermal neutron total macroscopic cross-section values. With a mean excitation electron energy of 71.80 eV and a tensile strength of 7.73 MPa, the SBR40 composite under investigation offers the best results. This work successfully prepared a flexible, lightweight, inexpensive, lead-free material with improved shielding potential. • Advanced composites are lightweight, economical, lead-free, and suitable for radiation shielding applications. • Experimental LAC using 137 Cs and 60 Co sources with NaI(Tl) detector compatible with theoretical predictions. • The SBR40 and SBR0 showed highest and lowest experimental LAC at 0.6617 MeV :0.1233 and 0.0856 cm −1 respectively • The SBR40 showed highest FNRCS, MRCS, and thermal neutron total macroscopic cross section: 0.1235, 0.14308, and 18.8280 cm −1 . • The SBR40 had highest mean excitation electron energy (71.80 eV) and tensile strength (7.73 MPa) among studied composites