Synergistic enhancement of neutron shielding performance in epoxy resin via ternary doping with boron, samarium and gadolinium

The neutron absorption spectra of boron (B), samarium (Sm) and gadolinium (Gd) exhibit complementary characteristics in the 0.1–1.0 eV energy range, offering potential for constructing more efficient synergistic shielding strategy. This study developed a polymer-based shielding material with excellent mechanical properties, thermal stability, and neutron shielding performance by co-doping B, Sm and Gd into epoxy resin (AFG-90H) matrix. The content and proportion of dopant nuclides were designed using super Monte Carlo simulation software to compensate for the inherent weak absorption regions of individual nuclides within specific energy ranges. Theoretical calculations indicated that the composite demonstrated optimal neutron shielding performance when inorganic functional fillers (Sm 2 O 3 and Gd 2 O 3 ) content was 3 wt%, with a mass ratio of Sm 2 O 3 to Gd 2 O 3 of 4:1. Furthermore, the addition of B 4 C enhanced both the mechanical properties and neutron shielding efficiency of the composite. The experimental results revealed that compared to the control sample without B 4 C, the composite containing 25 wt% B 4 C in the inorganic filler exhibited a 52.4% increase in tensile strength and a 34.8% reduction in the half-value layer thickness for neutron shielding. The relevant research data provides new insights into the development of lightweight shielding materials.