A New Method for Tungsten Oxide Nanopowder Deposition on Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites for X-ray Attenuation

• Published in: Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2023-12, Vol.13 (23), p.3071
• Main Authors: Mogildea, Marian, Mogildea, George, Zgura, Sorin I, Craciun, Doina, Mihăilescu, Natalia, Prepelita, Petronela, Mihai, Laura, Bazavan, Marian C, Bercu, Vasile, Gebac, Leonard Constantin, Maier, Raluca, Vasile, Bogdan S, Craciun, Valentin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Attenuation; Carbon; Carbon fiber reinforced plastics; Chemical synthesis; Composite materials; Crystal defects; Crystals; Decomposition; Electric properties; Electron microscopy; Fiber composites; Fiber reinforced polymers; High temperature; High temperature plasmas; Mechanical properties; Medical research; Melting point; Melting points; Metal oxides; Metals; Methods; Microscopy; Microwave discharge; Microwave plasmas; Microwaves; Nanoparticles; nanopowders; Oxides; Photons; Plasma; Plasma deposition; Polymer matrix composites; Polymers; Radiation; Scanning electron microscopy; Scanning microscopy; Single crystals; Structure; Synthesis; Temperature; Thermodynamic properties; Thickness measurement; Thin films; Transmission electron microscopy; Tungsten; Tungsten compounds; Tungsten oxide; Tungsten oxides; Wire; WO3; X-ray attenuation
• ISSN: 2079-4991; 2079-4991
• DOI: 10.3390/nano13233071

A new method for the synthesis and deposition of tungsten oxide nanopowders directly on the surface of a carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer composite (CFRP) is presented. The CFRP was chosen because this material has very good thermal and mechanical properties and chemical resistance. Also, CFRPs have low melting points and are transparent under ionized radiation. The synthesis is based on the direct interaction between high-power-density microwaves and metallic wires to generate a high-temperature plasma in an oxygen-containing atmosphere, which afterward condenses as metallic oxide nanoparticles on the CFRP. During microwave discharge, the value of the electronic temperature of the plasma, estimated from Boltzmann plots, reached up to 4 eV, and tungsten oxide crystals with a size between 5 nm and 100 nm were obtained. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis of the tungsten oxide nanoparticles showed they were single crystals without any extended defects. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed that the surface of the CFRP sample does not degrade during microwave plasma deposition. The X-ray attenuation of CFRP samples covered with tungsten oxide nanopowder layers of 2 µm and 21 µm thickness was measured. The X-ray attenuation analysis indicated that the thin film with 2 µm thickness attenuated 10% of the photon flux with 20 to 29 KeV of energy, while the sample with 21 µm thickness attenuated 60% of the photon flux.