journal article·2026-01Open access

Effects of Bi2O3 and Y2O3 addition on metakaolin-based geopolymers: physical-microstructure properties and shielding performance against ionizing radiation

M.S. Al-Buriahi, Ebru Yılmaz, Jamila S. Alzahrani, Fatih Çalışkan, Hind Saeed Alzahrani, B. Alshahrani, Awatif Alshamari

Ceramics International· Volume 52· Issue 1

Abstract

Metakaolin-based geopolymer is an eco-friendly material with unique features for construction applications. This work presents a novel and environment-friendly geopolymer and the influence of multi-cation Bi-B-Y composites (MKpure, MK-BY and MK-BiY) on the structure, density, hardness and stiffness of the GP composite. Density measurements, compressive tests, microstructure measurements, elemental distributions, gamma absorption studies, and neutron absorption cross sections are conducted to investigate the properties and performance of the geopolymer involved. The detected Na, O, Al and Si elements are the main components of the prepared geopolymer. The highest density of 1.49 g/cm3 is recorded for the MK-BiY specimen. The values of compressive strength were attained 9.32, 6.43 and 5.59 MPa for MK, MK-BY, and MK-BiY, respectively. Moreover, the photon absorption performance of the prepared geopolymer is studied and determined by estimating several parameters employing PHITS Monte Carlo simulations and different theoretical approaches. The results indicate that significant photon absorption of the geopolymer could be observed for MK-BiY, especially around the K-edge of Bi at 90.5 keV. Furthermore, the boron in MK-BY has a significant impact in neutron absorption applications rather than photon attenuation.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Radiation Shielding Materials Analysis · Graphite, nuclear technology, radiation studies · Polymer Nanocomposites and Properties

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

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