Nanoparticles of Al2O3:Cr as a sensitive thermoluminescent material for high exposures of gamma rays irradiations

Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) doped with proper activators is a highly sensitive phosphor commonly used for radiation dosimetry using thermoluminescence (TL) technique. Nanoparticles of this material activated with Chromium (Cr) have been synthesized using the propellant chemical combustion technique and studied for their TL response. They were characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope. The synthesized material has spherical nanoparticles with grain size around 25 nm. These nanoparticles were exposed to heavy doses from γ-rays of 137Cs. The TL glow curves show a prominent peak at around 474 K. This peak is found to be sensitive for high exposures of γ-rays and has linear response in the range of 100 Gy-20 kGy without showing saturation. This remarkable result suggests that Al2O3:Cr nanoparticles might be used for the dosimetry of food and seed irradiations.