Natural leather based gamma-ray shielding materials enabled by the coordination of well-dispersed Bi3+/Ba2+ ions and RE2O3 coating

Gamma rays is widely used in modern science and technology, but it may cause health damage to practitioners. In the present study, natural composites based on leather and high-Z elements (atomic number ≥ 56) were fabricated and used as gamma rays shielding materials. These shielding materials were prepared by coating rare earth nanoparticles (Er₂O₃ or La₂O₃) onto the surface of natural leather, which was first impregnated with Bi³⁺ and Ba²⁺. Results show that the attenuation efficiency of the prepared Er_1.31Bi_5.46-NL (1.31 and 5.46 mmol cm⁻³ loaded elements) with thickness of 3.2 mm was 61.57% for incident rays at 121.78 keV (¹⁵²Eu) and reached 96.4% in the incident of 59.5 keV (²⁴¹Am), which is comparable to that of 0.25-mm lead plate (54.54 mmol cm⁻³). In addition, these natural-leather-based shielding materials exhibited low density (approximately 1/10 of Pb), high strength and wearable behaviors.

Graphical abstract