A simple solution combustion synthesis and scintillation studies of undoped and Eu-doped BaMgAl10O17 nanoparticles for radiation detection

Abstract

This study describes a simple route to the synthesis of the Ba1-xMgAl10O17: Eux (x = 0, 0.02, 0.035, 0.055, and 0.07) nanoparticles based on the solution combustion synthesis method. The morphology, luminescence properties, and structural analysis of the synthesized compounds were performed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), photoluminescence (PL) spectra, energy dispersive analysis of the X-ray (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The photoluminescence study showed an intense blue band centered at~447 nm caused by Eu2+. It was observed in all the samples. The radiation response of the synthesized BAM nanoparticles (NPs), were measured using a241Am alpha source. The results indicated that the BaMgAl10O17: Eu2+ (BAM: Eu) NPs have a good absolute efficiency and can be used as a suitable candidate to fabricate efficient scintillators for radiation detection.