Our goal in this research is to investigate the effect of
concrete incorporated with nanoparticles of lead oxide in
powder form by different percentages on Gamma-ray shielding
characteristics. The lead oxide nanostructure was synthesized
through the reaction of citric acid (C6H7O8.H2O) solution and
lead acetate (Pb (C2H3O2)) solution as stabilizer and precursor,
respectively. In this synthesis, the prepared lead oxide
nanostructure was characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD)
and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) techniques. The
prepared PbO consists of the crystallites about 50 nm. The
concrete samples were prepared according to the local
standards of building materials and doped with PbO nano
powders by different percentages, 0%, 5%and 10% (by weight)
by replacing cement and keeping constant w/c ratio. Moreover,
commercial PbO bulk powder additive was used to check the
effect of particle size on concrete attenuation properties. The γ-
rays attenuation coefficients were measured as a function of the
additive percentage of nanoparticles of lead oxides and using γ-
ray point source,126Ra with different energies in the range
(0.295- 1.73) MeV. The results were compared with that for
normal concrete incorporated with the same percentage of bulk
lead oxide. It was found that the γ-ray attenuation coefficient
for concrete doped with nanoparticles of PbO was slightly
improved.