Synthesis and structural, electrical, optical, and gamma-ray attenuation properties of ZnO-multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) composite separately incorporated with CdO, TiO2, and Fe2O3

In this study, Fe2O3, TiO2, and CdO semiconductor metal oxides were separately incorporated into the ZnO-MWCNT composite at different weight percentages. Accordingly, several experimental analyses on electrical, optical, and radiation shielding characteristics of coupled semiconductor metal oxides nanocomposites were performed to determine their monotonic impact on the investigated material properties. Moreover, gamma-ray shielding properties of these novel materials were determined using MCNPX general-purpose Monte Carlo code. At 5% oxide addition, the maximum electrical conductivity was found in all groups for all temperatures. Moreover, 5% oxide reinforcement resulted in the maximum reflection characteristics in all groups. Among the CdO doped materials, the CZnOCd5 sample exhibits the highest electrical conductivity behaviour at room and high temperatures. The Eg value calculated for the CZnOCd5 sample was 3.284 eV. The CZnOCd2.5 and CZnOCd5 samples had the greatest Eg values when compared to the pure sample and the samples from other groups. The CZnOCd5 sample has the highest reflectance value in the CZnOCd group's reflectance graph. On the other hand, the maximum gamma-ray attenuation properties were reported for CZnOCd5 sample. Among the analysed samples, the CZnOCd5 sample's characteristics provide a preliminary motivation for a more comprehensive analysis of this material and assessment of potential radiation protection applications.