Low relative humidity-dependent polyvinyl butyral film dosimeter containing 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide dye for radiation processing

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to develop a film dosimeter composed of 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MMT) dye and polyvinyl butyral (PVB) binder to reduce the effect if relative humidity effect during irradiation.

Design/methodology/approach

The films were exposed to gamma ray radiation from a ⁶⁰Co gamma ray source with 8.6 kGy/h dose-rate and 1.25 MeV beam energy to various doses ranging from 2.5 to 100 kGy. UV-VIS spectrophotometer was used to measure the changes in optical properties of irradiated films by means of the changes in the absorbance values at wavelength of 560 nm.

Findings

The effect of irradiation temperature, relative humidity, fluorescent light and postirradiation stability on the performance of developed film dosimeter were investigated.

Practical implications

Previous MMT dye with PVA binder was significant effect of the relative humidity on the dose response of MMT-PVA films which decrease the practical feasibility of using these films in routine high-dose measurements. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to reduce the relative humidity effect on the dose response by proposing a formula for film dosimeters that combines MMT dye with the polyvinyl butyral (PVB) binder.

Originality/value

The irradiation of MMT-PVB films leads to a change in color from yellow to brown, which could be evaluated by the absorbance intensity.

Citation

Rabaeh, K., Basfar, A.A. and Hammoudeh, I.M.E. (2025), "Low relative humidity-dependent polyvinyl butyral film dosimeter containing 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide dye for radiation processing", Pigment & Resin Technology, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/PRT-09-2024-0096