TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessment of various polymer materials for enhanced radiation protection in X-ray imaging modalities
T2 - A comprehensive Monte Carlo simulation study
AU - Mansouri, Sofiene
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2025/9
Y1 - 2025/9
N2 - Radiation protection is essential in X-ray imaging modalities to mitigate the potential health risks associated with exposure to ionizing radiation. This study, for the first time, focuses on evaluating the effects of 28 different pragmatic polymers used in polymer-based nanocomposites for radiation shielding in X-ray imaging. Using a Monte Carlo (MC) simulation-based approach, the shielding performance was assessed through key parameters such as the linear attenuation coefficient (μ), mass attenuation coefficient (μm), half-value layer (HVL), tenth-value layer (TVL), mean free path (MFP), and effective atomic number (Zeff), across photon energies ranging from 80 keV to 120 keV. Specifically, the study aims to evaluate the X-ray shielding properties of 28 different polymers using the Geant4 MC code. Among the polymers analyzed, PVDC demonstrated superior X-ray attenuation characteristics at 60, 80, 100, and 120 kVp. In terms of performance comparison, the polymers can be ranked as follows: PVDC > CPVC > PTFCE > PVC for μ, and PVDC > CPVC > PVC > PTFCE for μm. Notably, the polymers NR and PPy exhibited lower μ and μm values relative to the other polymers analyzed. Notably, the polymers NR and PPy exhibited the lowest μ and μm values among those studied. Furthermore, unlike the trends observed for μ and μm, the MFP, HVL, and TVL values for all polymers increased with rising incident photon energy.
AB - Radiation protection is essential in X-ray imaging modalities to mitigate the potential health risks associated with exposure to ionizing radiation. This study, for the first time, focuses on evaluating the effects of 28 different pragmatic polymers used in polymer-based nanocomposites for radiation shielding in X-ray imaging. Using a Monte Carlo (MC) simulation-based approach, the shielding performance was assessed through key parameters such as the linear attenuation coefficient (μ), mass attenuation coefficient (μm), half-value layer (HVL), tenth-value layer (TVL), mean free path (MFP), and effective atomic number (Zeff), across photon energies ranging from 80 keV to 120 keV. Specifically, the study aims to evaluate the X-ray shielding properties of 28 different polymers using the Geant4 MC code. Among the polymers analyzed, PVDC demonstrated superior X-ray attenuation characteristics at 60, 80, 100, and 120 kVp. In terms of performance comparison, the polymers can be ranked as follows: PVDC > CPVC > PTFCE > PVC for μ, and PVDC > CPVC > PVC > PTFCE for μm. Notably, the polymers NR and PPy exhibited lower μ and μm values relative to the other polymers analyzed. Notably, the polymers NR and PPy exhibited the lowest μ and μm values among those studied. Furthermore, unlike the trends observed for μ and μm, the MFP, HVL, and TVL values for all polymers increased with rising incident photon energy.
KW - Monte Carlo
KW - Polymer composite
KW - Radiation shielding
KW - Shielding properties
KW - X-rays
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105002254561&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.radphyschem.2025.112806
DO - 10.1016/j.radphyschem.2025.112806
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:105002254561
SN - 0969-806X
VL - 234
JO - Radiation Physics and Chemistry
JF - Radiation Physics and Chemistry
M1 - 112806
ER -