A Study of Photon Interaction with Phantom Material Made of Rhizophora Spp. Binderless Particleboard in the Energy Range 59.54–356 keV

Abstract

The linear and mass attenuation coefficients of raw Rhizophora spp. wood, binderless particleboard, and Perspex were measured at gamma ray energies of 59.54, 88.0, and 356 keV. Americium-241, cadmium-109, and barium-133 point sources were used to produce gamma rays in this work. Results were compared with the theoretical values of water calculated using the XCOM program. The mass attenuation coefficients of binderless particleboard and water showed good agreement, with discrepancies of approximately 0.1, 0.6, and 0.1% at 59.54, 88.0, and 356 keV, respectively. The measurements of raw Rhizophora spp. wood and water had discrepancies of 0.7, 0.9, and 0.8% at 59.54, 88.0, and 356 keV, respectively, and those of Perspex and water had discrepancies of 0.3, 0.9, and 0.2% at the same photon energies. Moreover, Rhizophora spp. binderless particleboard was compared with water in terms of effective atomic number (Zeff), and a close match was noticed. In addition, the half-value layers of the experimental samples were measured at 59.54, 88.0, and 356 keV. The calculated values of water and the experimental results of binderless particleboard were in good agreement, indicating that binderless particleboard can be used as a phantom material in the range of photon energy 59.54–356 keV.