Enhancement of nuclear radiation shielding properties of silicone rubber with γ‐ray irradiation induced graphene oxide modified carbonyl iron powder hybrid fillers

Abstract In this study the graphene oxide modified carbonyl iron (GO‐CI) was prepared by γ‐ray irradiation, which was added to silicone rubber composites to enhance the nuclear radiation shielding performances. X‐ray diffraction (XRD) characterization result showed the structure and morphology of the obtained GO‐CI nanocomposites. The mixture of GO/CI and the hybrid GO‐CI were individually incorporated into the vinyl‐terminated polydimethylsiloxane (Vi‐PDMS) to prepare referenced SR/GO/CI and SR/GO‐CI composites. Compared with SR/GO/CI, the SR/GO‐CI exhibited better thermal conduction and mechanical recovery properties. Moreover, the γ‐ray radiation shielding ability of SR/GO‐CI is much higher than that of pristine SR/GO/CI. CI particles are coated by GO nanosheets to increase surface area to prevent sedimentation of CI. It implies that SR‐GO/CI composite would have potential application as the radiation hardening material with thermal conductive and nuclear radiation shielding function.