Spectroscopic investigation of gamma radiation-induced coloration in silicate glass for nuclear applications

Silicate glass irradiated by γ-rays was investigated in this study using spectroscopic analyses which included ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) absorption, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The phenomenon of coloration on γ-ray-irradiated silicate glass was analyzed and the effect of annealing on the silicate coloration was also investigated. The results revealed that the coloration originates from the creation of hole-centers (HC) caused by radiation. The shade of the coloration highly correlates to the amount of these HC-related defects but can be reversed by thermal annealing. The variation in coloration is an effective predictive factor in understanding radiation damage on silicate glass. Therefore, this study is relevant in the development of radiation detectors using silicate material as well as in the permanent disposal of high-level nuclear waste in glass form.