Structural and optical studies of electron beam-irradiated Makrofol nuclear track detector

Abstract The effect of electron beam irradiation on the structural and optical properties of Makrofol solid state nuclear track detector (SSNTD) was investigated. Samples from Makrofol detector were irradiated with electron beam with doses at levels between 10 and 400 kGy. Structural and optical property studies using X-ray diffraction, FTIR spectroscopy, color difference measurements and electron paramagnetic resonance were performed on non-irradiated and irradiated Makrofol samples. The transmission of these samples in the wavelength range 200–2500 nm, as well as any color changes, was studied. A characteristic absorption bands with different intensities was observed. Using the transmission data, both the tristimulus and the Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage (CIE) LAB coordinate values were calculated. In addition, the color differences between the non-irradiated sample and those irradiated with different doses were calculated. The results indicate that the Makrofol detector is a material that does not have a high resistance to degradation, and its tendency to crosslinking is much lower than that of several other SSNTDs.