Themoluminescence properties of nanocrystalline of BaSO4:Dy,Tb irradiated with gamma rays

Nanocrystalline of BaSO4 and BaSO4:Dy,Tb of grain size 45–55 nm has been prepared by the co-precipitation method and its thermoluminescence characteristics have been studied. The formation of the material was confirmed by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV–visible spectroscopy. Shape and size of the prepared nanocrystalline powder was observed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The TL glow curve of the nanocrystalline pellets of BaSO4:Dy,Tb shows a prominent single peak at 530 K along with another peak of lesser intensity at around 420 K and 560 K. On the contrary, the nanocrystalline pellets of BaSO4 show a peak of low intensity at 500 K and prominent peak around 460 K. The glow curve structure does not change at the range of 0.1–15 kGy and some new peaks appear at high doses but have low intensities. The 530 K of the nanocrystalline pellets of BaSO4:Dy,Tb shows a linear response with exposure increasing up to very high values (as high as 7 kGy), where the other doped BaSO4 show saturation.