Tungsten nanoparticle anchoring on boron nitride nanosheet-based polymer nanocomposites for complex radiation shielding

The synergistic effect cooperation of hybrids composed of 2D materials and metal nanoparticles have been studied extensively due to their exotic properties leading to various technological applications. We prepared tungsten nanoparticles (W NPs) decorated on boron nitride nanosheets (BNNS) hybrids and demonstrated the enhanced properties of their polyethylene (PE) nanocomposites. The uniformly decorated W NPs on the BNNS surface improved the performance by maximizing the specific surface area of the hybrids by suppressing the restacking of BNNS and aggregation of NPs. The W-BNNS/PE nanocomposites showed enhanced mechanical properties (16.4% higher yield strength and 58.1% higher elastic modulus than pure PE) and conductivity (35% higher through-plane conductivity than pure PE) due to the synergistic effects of nanoparticle anchoring and interconnection. The nanocomposites exhibited outstanding radiation shielding ability for neutron ray (4.80 cm2/g) and gamma (γ) ray (0.093 cm2/g) radiation. The results suggest that nanocomposites containing W-BNNS hybrids have good potential for application as complex radiation shielding materials.