Preparation of High Z-Natural Leather Composites and their γ-rays Shielding Performances Investigation

In this work, natural leather (CL)-based high-Z composites (HZ-CL) were successfully prepared by “equivalent-volume impregnation method”. The effects of different thicknesses, high-Z element kinds and loading contents of HZ-CL on shielding performances of γ-rays in incident of 59.6 keV (²⁴¹Am) and 121.78 keV (¹⁵²Eu) were thoroughly investigated. It demonstrated that the prepared composites with higher thickness and element content exhibited better shielding performances. Furthermore, the shielding performances of Ba-CL was obviously higher than that of Bi-CL in incident of 59.6 keV. Meanwhile, Bi-CL decayed more γ-rays energy than Ba-CL in incident of 121.78 keV. Additionally, the mass attenuation coefficient of Ba_5.46-CL was 4.42 cm²·g^-1 in incident of 59.6 keV, while it was 1.33 cm²·g^-1 for that of Bi_5.46-CL (0.8 mm) in incident of 121.78 keV. The protection performances of Ba_5.46 -CL (5.46 mmol·cm^-3, 0.8 mm) was comparable to Pb plate (54.54 mmol·cm^-3, 0.1 mm) in incident of 59.6 keV. In addition to the advantages of low density and softness tensile and tear strength of HZ-CL. Therefore, HZ-CL shows well application prospects for the prevention the damage of γ-rays.