PbO (lead oxide) particles with different sizes were incorporated into polystyrene (PS) with various weight fractions (0, 10, 15, 25, 35%). These novel PS/PbO nano-composites were produced by roll mill mixing and compressing molding techniques and then investigated for radiation attenuation of X-rays (N-series/ISO 4037) typically used in radiology. Properties of the PbO particles were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Filler dispersion and elemental composition of the prepared nano-composites were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), revealing better filler distribution and fewer agglomerations with smaller PbO particle size. Linear and mass attenuation coefficients (μ and μ_m), total molecular and atomic cross-sections (σ_mol and σ_atm), as well as effective atomic number and electron density (Z_eff and N_eff), were calculated for the energy range N40 to N200. The influence of PbO weight percentage on the enhancement of the shielding parameters of the nano-composites was expected; however, the effect of PbO particle size was surprising. Linear and mass attenuation coefficients for PS/PbO composites increased gradually with increasing PbO concentrations, and composites with a small size of nanoparticles showed best performance. In addition, increasing PbO concentration raised the effective atomic number Z_eff of the composite. Hence, the electron density N_eff increased, which provided a higher total interaction cross-section of X-rays with the composites. Maximum radiation shielding was observed for PS/PbO(B). It is concluded that this material might be used in developping low-cost and lightweight X-ray shielding to be used in radiology.

将不同尺寸的 PbO（氧化铅）颗粒掺入不同重量分数（0、10、15、25、35%）的聚苯乙烯 (PS) 中。这些新型 PS/PbO 纳米复合材料是通过辊磨机混合和压缩成型技术生产的，然后研究了通常用于放射学的 X 射线（N 系列/ISO 4037）的辐射衰减。通过 X 射线衍射 (XRD) 研究了 PbO 颗粒的性质。使用扫描电子显微镜 (SEM) 和能量色散 X 射线光谱 (EDS) 对制备的纳米复合材料的填料分散和元素组成进行了表征，揭示了更好的填料分布和更少的团聚以及更小的 PbO 粒径。线性和质量衰减​​系数 ( μ和μ _m), 总分子和原子横截面 ( σ _mol和σ _atm ), 以及有效原子序数和电子密度 ( Z _eff和N _eff ), 计算了能量范围 N40 到 N200。预期PbO重量百分比对纳米复合材料屏蔽参数增强的影响；然而，PbO 粒径的影响令人惊讶。随着 PbO 浓度的增加，PS/PbO 复合材料的线性衰减系数和质量衰减​​系数逐渐增加，具有小尺寸纳米粒子的复合材料表现出最佳性能。此外，增加 PbO 浓度会提高有效原子序数Z _eff的复合材料。因此，电子密度N _eff增加，这提供了更高的 X 射线与复合材料的总相互作用截面。观察到 PS/PbO(B) 的最大辐射屏蔽。得出的结论是，这种材料可用于开发用于放射学的低成本和轻型 X 射线屏蔽。