Gadolinium- and lead-containing functional terpolymers for low energy X-ray protection

Abstract By polymerization of gadolinium methacrylate (Gd (MAA)3), lead methacrylate (Pb(MAA)2) and methyl methacrylate (MMA), Gd and Pb were chemically bonded into polymers. The X-ray shielding performance was evaluated by Monte Carlo simulation method, and the results showed that the more metal functional organic monomer, the better the shielding performance of terpolymers. When the X-ray energy is 65 keV, Gd (MAA)3-containing polymers have better shielding performance than Pb(MAA)2-containing polymers. Gd could compensate for the weak absorption region of Pb. Therefore, polymers containing both Gd and Pb enhanced shielding efficiency against X-ray in various low-energy ranges. For obtaining terpolymers with uniform monomer compositions, the relationship between the monomer composition of the terpolymers and the conversion level was optimized by calculating the reactivity ratios. The value of reactivity ratios of r (Gd (MAA)3/Pb(MAA)2), r (Pb(MAA)2/Gd (MAA)3), r (Gd (MAA)3/MMA), r (MMA/Gd (MAA)3), r (Pb(MAA)2/MMA) and r (MMA/Pb(MAA)2) was 0.483, 0.004, 0.338, 2.508, 0.255, 0.029. The terpolymers with uniform monomer composition could be obtained by controlling the monomer compositions or conversion levels. The results can provide new radiation protection materials and contribute to the improvement in nuclear safety.