Neutron Shielding Performance of Bio-Based Modified and Unmodified Rosins

Year 2025, Volume: 1 Issue: 2, 20 - 30, 30.12.2025

Bilge Yılmaz , Selcen Uzun Duran , Hilal Fazli , İlhan Deniz

Abstract

This study aims to determine the neutron radiation attenuation capacities of bio-based rosin (ROSIN) and some of its derivatives glycerol ester pine rosin (GEK) and tall oil pentaerythritol ester (TOPEK) by means of comprehensive tests and characterization analyses. First, the chemical structures and physical properties of modified and unmodified rosin samples were characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometry, Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Following the characterization studies, ROSIN, GEK, and TOPEK samples were subjected to a series of additional analyses to determine their neutron radiation attenuation capacities. The neutron attenuation results yielded generally promising macroscopic cross-sections (cm-1) values of 0.59 cm-1 for ROSIN, 0.72 cm-1 for GEK, and 0.65 cm-1 for TOPEK. According to the results, ROSIN has much macroscopic cross section value than epoxy (0.58 cm-1) , GEK was found to be higher than that of paraffin and epoxy which are commercially used as a neutron absorber. These findings indicate that rosin and its derivatives can be considered as potential candidates for the development of bio-based neutron-shielding material formulations for use in biomedical technologies.

Keywords

Modified rosin , unmodified rosin , neutron attenuation , neutron shielding

Ethical Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Thanks

The authors would like to thank Prof. Dr. İskender Atilla Reyhancan and Sahip Kızıltaş for their kind support.

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