Cerium doped barium tantalates: Fabrication, characterization, and investigation of gamma radiation attenuation.

Cerium-doped Ba 5 Ta 4 O 15 crystals used to enhance the γ-ray attenuation performance were fabricated via a hydrothermal process. The contents of doped cerium were adjusted from 4 mol% to 16 mol%. The obtained products were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, HRTEM, and XPS. It proved that cerium ions were successfully introduced to the crystal lattice of Ba 5 Ta 4 O 15 , and partially replaced the barium ions sites. The Ba 5 Ta 4 O 15 /EPDM composites prepared by mixing the obtained inorganic powders and the polymer matrix were tested in the γ-ray attenuation. The results showed that 16 mol% cerium doping gave the Ba 5 Ta 4 O 15 /EPDM composite a lead of 38.66% in the γ-ray (Am-241 source, 59.5 keV) shielding capacity compared to its un-doped competitor. The enhancement of γ-ray attenuation performance of cerium doped Ba 5 Ta 4 O 15 was ascribed to expand the K-edge absorbing area of tantalum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]