Preparation of transparent BaSO₄ nanodispersions by high-gravity reactive precipitation combined with surface modification for transparent X-ray shielding nanocomposite films

Abstract

BaSO₄ nanoparticles as important functional materials have attracted considerable research interests, due to their X-rays barrier and absorption properties. However, most of BaSO₄ nanoparticles prepared by traditional technology are nanopowders with broad size distribution and poor dispersibility, which may greatly limit their applications. To the best of our knowledge, the synthesis of transparent BaSO₄ nanodispersions was rarely reported. Here, we firstly present a novel and efficient method to prepare transparent and stable BaSO₄ nanodispersions with a relatively small particle size around 10 to 17 nm using a precipitation method in a rotating packed bed (RPB), followed by a modification treatment using stearic acid. Compared with the BaSO₄ prepared in a traditional stirred tank, the product prepared using an RPB has much smaller particle size and narrower size distribution. More importantly, by using RPB, the reaction time can be significantly decreased from 20 min to 18 s. Furthermore, the transparent BaSO₄-polyvinyl butyral nanocomposite films with good X-ray shielding performance can be easily fabricated. We believe that the stable BaSO₄ nanodispersions may have a wide range of applications for transparent composite materials and coatings with X-ray shielding performance for future research.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

BaSO₄ nanoparticles / rotating packed bed / transparent nanodispersions / BaSO₄-PVB films / X-ray shielding

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2016YFA0201701/2016YFA0201700), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 21878015). Qian Sun is grateful to the International Postdoctoral Exchange Fellowship Program (Talent-Introduction Program) and Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering for funding.

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