PbWO4 nanofibers for shielding gamma radiation: crystal growth, morphology and performance evaluation

Abstract

Assembling anisotropic structures with versatility such as good thermal conductivity and mechanical loading for radiation shielding has recently attracted widespread attention. Herein, a facile strategy with (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane (KH590) as a surfactant is used to synthesize one-dimensional (1D) PbWO₄ structures. Their morphology evolution and crystal phase transition are traced during the growth process by SEM, TEM, and XRD techniques, respectively. The results show that monoclinic PbWO₄ nanofibers with typical single-crystal attributes and high production are obtained with the addition of 5 wt% KH590. In addition, although PbWO₄ nanoparticles display a slightly high attenuation coefficient for gamma radiation, 1D PbWO₄ structures exhibit better thermal conductivity, tensile strength and elongation at break. These findings indicate that the prepared 1D PbWO₄ structures have a very promising prospect in the application of state-of-the-art shielding materials for gamma radiation.