Abstract: The demand for environment friendly non-Pb X-ray shielding materials in medical diagnosis is increasing. Therefore, novel shielding materials of TPV combined with WO₃ or Gd₂O₃ or Bi₂O₃ are successfully prepared by melt blending and characterized microscopically. Properties of the composite materials are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Results show that the functional particles are uniformly dispersed in the matrix without obvious agglomeration; the functional particles do not form any chemical bonds with the matrix; and the crystal structures of the functional particles also remain unchanged. Tests of mechanical properties show that TPV/WO₃ is the best, with a tensile strength of 4.65 MPa, a fracture elongation of 544.76%, and a Shore hardness of 73 HA at the doping ratio of 100∶100. The shielding experiment for 100 kV tube voltage X-ray shows that both Gd₂O₃ and WO₃ can meet the minimum lead equivalence requirement (0.25 mmPb), with WO₃ reaching the highest 0.33 mmPb. MCNP simulation is basically consistent with the experiment, and the data show that X-ray absorption ranges of Gd₂O₃ and WO₃ are located in the “weak absorption region” of Pb. In summary, this group of shielding materials exhibit good protective performance against 100 kV tube voltage X-ray and have potential applications in fields such as nuclear medicine and nuclear industry.

Key words: X-ray, radiation protection, gadolinium oxide, tungsten oxide, bismuth oxide