PbWO4 Synergistically Modified with Styrene Maleic Anhydride and Bis(dioctyl pyrophosphate) Ethylene Titanate in Highly Filled Polymer Fibers for Enhanced γ‐Ray Shielding Safety and Wear Comfort of Articles

Abstract Radiation protection safety and wear comfort of personal protective equipment (PPE) are of vital importance to nuclear personnel involved. Unfortunately, it is difficult for current PEE to meet the increasing requirements, which causes tremendous threats to health and reduced working efficiency. Here, a highly filled polymer fiber for textile‐based PPE to deal with the dilemma is put forward. PbWO 4 (PWO) particles are superficially modified with styrene maleic anhydride (SMA) and then titanate coupling agent (bis(dioctyl pyrophosphate) ethylene titanate (BPET)) to form PWO@SMA‐BPET. After that, as high as 70 wt% PWO@SMA‐BPET/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers are obtained by solution blending and wet spinning in succession. Synergistic effects of surface modification with SMA and BPET lead to uniform dispersion PWO particles and good compatibility of interfaces in highly filled fibers. Importantly 36.6% γ‐ray (105 keV) shielding has been detected at three‐layer fabrics with 70 wt% PWO@SMA‐BPET/PVA fiber. Besides, the fabrics also display 116 mm s −1 of air permeability and 5388 g m −2 24 h of water vapor permeability, respectively. This work discloses synergistic effects on surface modification of high loading inorganic particles in polymer fibers, which give a further boost to γ‐ray shielding safety and wear comfort of PPE.