Abstract
The present study's basic objective is to evaluate the photon shielding features of the quaternary compound Cu2CdSn3S8 and three different binary compounds CuS, CdS, and SnS by carrying out Phy-X/PSD software between 0.015 and 15 MeV photon energies. The samples' radiation shielding capabilities were compared with those of different concretes and commercial glasses reported in the literature. Photon interaction parameters like MAC, LAC, HVL, TVL, MEF, ACS, ECS, Zeff, Neff, Ceff, Zeq, EBF, and EABF are represented in the selected energy range. The MAC and LAC values of the tested samples are greater than certain concrete types commonly used for radiation safety. The measured values represent that SnS binary compound sample has higher values for MAC, LAC, Zeff, Ceff, ACS, ECS, EBF, and EABF and lower HVL and MFP values. The Cu2CdSn3S8, CuS, and SnS FNRCS values are higher than the corresponding values of RS-253-G18, RS-360, and RS-520, so the studied samples have superior neutron attenuation properties. CuS possesses the best FNRCS (= 0.102) among the present studied compounds.
•Three different binary sulfide compounds and the quaternary compound were examined by Phy-X/PSD software•Gamma radiation attenuation parameters, as well as fast neutrons attenuation, were computed to select the best attenuator•CuS has poor γ-ray shielding features, but it indicates good neutron shielding properties•The denser sample SnS effectively absorbed gamma radiation by recording the maximum LAC•SnS achieved the highest ACS and ECS values but the lowest EBF and EABF values