Improved mechanical, magnetic and radiation shielding performance of rubbery polymer magnetic nanocomposites through incorporation of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles

The current research investigates the impact of magnetite (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles (3–12 wt%) on the properties of rubbery polymer nanocomposites fabricated via melt blending method. The tensile and impact properties were improved at an optimal 6 wt% Fe₃O₄, revealing a good interfacial interaction. Fe₃O₄ enhanced the thermal stability, as evidenced by the increased integral procedure decomposition temperature up to 26 %. Fe₃O₄ increased residual and saturated magnetization the most at 6 wt% loading. The gamma-ray shielding properties were explored with energy ranging from 0.2835 to 2.506 MeV, and effectively at low energies. Increased Fe₃O₄ content correlated positively with linear attenuation coefficient (LAC), enhancing radiation shielding but reducing neutron shielding. At 0.2835 MeV, the LAC values increased up to 0.12431 cm⁻¹ for 12 wt% Fe₃O₄, while the fast neutron removal cross-section values decreased from 0.10427 cm⁻¹ to 0.08548 cm⁻¹. These findings highlight the multifunctional potential of Fe₃O₄-incorporated nanocomposites in radiation shielding applications.