Thermoluminescence properties of new ZnO nanophosphors exposed to beta irradiation

Novel ZnO nanophosphors were synthesized by thermal annealing of ZnS powders obtained by precipitation in a chemical bath deposition reaction. Pellet-shape samples were exposed to beta radiation in order to investigate their dosimetric capabilities under ionizing radiation. The dependence of thermoluminescence response in the 0.15-10.5 kGy dose range increased as the radiation dose increased. The composition and structure of the ZnO samples are dependent on the annealing time and temperature. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry analyses and X-ray diffraction patterns, confirmed the change from amorphous ZnS to nanocrystalline ZnO (zincite) structure. The samples were beta irradiated and their thermoluminescence response as a function of dose exhibited good linear ranges, which make them very promising detectors and dosimeters suitable for ionizing radiation.