Modifications induced by gamma irradiation to Makrofol polymer nuclear track detector

Abstract

The aim of the present study was extended from obtaining information about the interaction of gamma rays with Makrofol DE 7-2 track detector to introduce the basis that can be used in concerning simple sensor for gamma irradiation and bio-engineering applications. Makrofol polymer samples were irradiated with 1.25 MeV Co-60 gamma radiations at doses ranging from 20 to 1000 kG y. The modifications of irradiated samples so induced were analyzed using UV-vis spectrometry, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and the measurements of Vickers' hardness. Moreover, the change in wettability of irradiated Makrofol was investigated by the contact angle determination of the distilled water. UV-vis spectroscopy shows a noticeable decrease in the energy band gap due to gamma irradiation. This decrease could be attributed to the appearance of a shift to UV spectra toward higher wavelength region after irradiation. Photoluminescence spectra reveal a remarkable change in the integrated photoluminescence intensity with increasing gamma doses, which may be resulted from some matrix disorder through the creation of some defected states in the irradiated polymer. The hardness was found to increase from 4.78 MPa for the unirradiated sample to 23.67 MPa for the highest gamma dose. The contact angle investigations show that the wettability of the modified samples increases with increasing the gamma doses. The result obtained from present investigation furnishes evidence that the gamma irradiations are a successful technique to modify the Makrofol DE 7-2 polymer properties to use it in suitable applications. (C) 2014 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Cairo University