A comparative study on the influence of 150 MeV Ni7+, 120 MeV Ag9+, and 110 MeV Au8+ swift heavy ions on the structural and thermoluminescence properties of Y2O3: Eu3+/Tb3+ nanophosphor for dosimetric applications

Herein, a comparative study on the structural and thermoluminescence (TL) properties of Y2O3: Eu3+/Tb3+ nanophosphor is investigated under the influence of 150 MeV Ni7+, 120 MeV Ag9+, and 110 MeV Au8+ swift heavy ions (SHI) within the fluence range of 1 × 1011 to 1 × 1013 ions/cm2. With the increase in SHI irradiation, the crystallinity deteriorated owing to grain fragmentation for the SHI fluence, which was confirmed via the Hall–Williamsons relation. The loss of crystallinity of the nanophosphor after SHI irradiation was higher in the case of the Au8+ ion irradiation. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed that the SHI irradiation separated the agglomerated particles into irregularly shaped particles with reduced particle size. Infrared spectroscopy revealed Y–O stretching and C–O bending bonds. The reduction in Y–O vibration in the SHI-irradiated phosphor indicated the loss of crystallinity, and confirmed the formation of new defect centers. SRIM calculations, performed to correlate the changes in TL properties of Y2O3: Eu3+/Tb3+ nanophosphor, showed that 110 MeV Au8+ ions created higher concentration of defects. Present nanophosphor possessed good TL response toward γ-ray as well as different SHI irradiations. The TL glow curves of the virgin and SHI-irradiated nanophosphor showed increase in TL intensity as a function of ion fluence. Trapping parameters of the different SHI-irradiated nanophosphors were calculated from the TL data using various glow curve analysis methods. The obtained results indicated that the present phosphor can be used successfully in heavy ions dosimetry for space craft and air crew.