Toward advanced gamma rays radiation resistance and shielding efficiency with phthalonitrile resins and composites

Highlights: • The phthalonitrile resin can resist up to 200 kGy of absorbed dose. • 2 cm thick neat phthalonitrile samples can stop 17% of high ionizing gamma rays. • The introduction of nano-tungsten highly improved the shielding efficiency. • The screening ratio reached 42% at 50 wt% of nano-tungsten loading. The phthalonitrile resins have claimed the leading place in the field of high performance polymers thanks to their combination of outstanding properties. The present work explores for the first time the gamma rays radiation resistance and shielding efficiency of the phthalonitrile resins and its related tungsten-reinforced nanocomposites. The primary goal of this research is to define the basic behavior of the phthalonitrile resins under highly ionizing gamma rays. The obtained results confirmed that the neat phthalonitrile resins can resist absorbed doses as high as 200 kGy. Meanwhile, the remarkable shielding efficiency of the phthalonitrile polymers was confirmed to be easily improved by preparing lead-free nanocomposites. In fact, the gamma rays screening ratio reached the exceptional value of 42% for the nanocomposites of 50 wt% of nano-tungsten loading. Thus, this study confirms that the remarkable performances of the phthalonitrile resins are not limited to the thermal and mechanical properties and can be extended to the gamma rays radiation and shielding resistances.