An investigation of the thermoluminescence properties of dysprosium doped Li3PO4 nanophosphor

Abstract

This paper reports on the thermoluminescence (TL) properties of Li3PO4 doped with dysprosium (Dy) for the very first time. Sample preparation was done by using the co-precipitation method with 0.01 mol% of Dy. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy of the nanophosphor was done to get an understanding of the nanophosphor’s crystalline structure and the bodings of its functional groups. The TL glow curve analysis revealed that the compound exhibits good TL sensitivity and an excellent TL dose response which remains linear throughout the observed range of doses (10 Gy to 4 kGy). A simple glow curve structure following second order kinetics with two peaks and the major peak at around 250°C was observed. These characteristics shown by the synthesized material coupled with the fact that it is human tissue equivalent, makes it a potential candidate for use in medical dosimetry.