Boron-containing compounds have gained significant attention as effective additives for enhancing the performance of composite materials. This study systematically investigates the key factors influencing the neutron shielding efficiency of various boron compounds, including mass density, boron content, and boron number density (atoms/nm \(^{3}\) ), to establish guidelines for their optimal selection in radiation-shielding applications. The effective removal cross section ( \(\Sigma _\text {R}\) ) for fast neutrons was evaluated using Phy-X and NXcom software, whereas the macroscopic cross section ( \(\Sigma\) ) for thermal neutrons was calculated via Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) simulations and manual computations. The results demonstrate that mass density and boron number density are the dominant factors for fast-neutron shielding, with \(\Sigma _\text {R}\) values ranging from 0.082 cm \(^{-1}\) (KBH \(_{4}\) ) to 0.225 cm \(^{-1}\) (WB \(_{2}\) ). For thermal neutrons, the boron number density is the primary determinant of shielding performance, with \(\Sigma\) values of 4070.34 cm \(^{-1}\) for GdB \(_{6}\) , 474.67 cm \(^{-1}\) for ZrB \(_{12}\) , and 447.37 cm \(^{-1}\) for B \(_{4}\) C. Notably, GdB \(_{6}\) exhibits exceptional thermal neutron shielding owing to the high absorption cross section of \(^{157}\) Gd. These findings provide critical insights for designing advanced shielding materials, emphasizing the synergistic effects of density and boron number density to optimize neutron attenuation.
