Hydrophilic Modification of Gadolinium Oxide by Building Double Molecular Structures
With the rapid growth of nuclear energy, effective shielding of radioactive nuclear by-products is critical for safety and environmental protection. Gadolinium (Gd) is ideal for neutron shielding due to its exceptionally high thermal neutron capture cross-section. Despite significant progress in developing various Gd-based shielding materials, poor interfacial compatibility between Gd2O3and polymer matrices remains a significant limitation. In this study, we addressed this challenge by successfully modifying Gd2O3nanoparticles (Gd2O3@SIT-M) through the construction of a dual-layer molecular coating using electrostatic interactions. Initially, Gd2O3was functionalized with the silane coupling agent 3-(trihydroxysilyl) propyl-1-propane-sulfonic acid (SIT), followed by subsequent assembly of polyether amine M2070 onto this modified surface. The combined presence of hydrophilic sulfonic acid groups from SIT and amine-ether groups from M2070 endowed Gd2O3@SIT-M nanoparticles with excellent hydrophilicity, significantly reducing their aqueous contact angle to 14.34°. Consequently, this modification strategy notably enhanced the dispersion stability of Gd2O3nanoparticles in aqueous solutions and polymer matrices. The developed approach thus provides an effective pathway for fabricating advanced polymer-based neutron shielding materials with improved dispersibility, stability, and overall performance.
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