Surface and thermoluminescence study of Dy³⁺ doped Sr₃B₂O₆ nanocrystalline phosphor

In this letter, the thermoluminescence response and surface properties of Sr₃B₂O₆:Dy³⁺ nanophosphor prepared by combustion method exposed to γ-rays are reported. The crystalline structure of nanophosphors was confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction. The result indicates rhombohedral nanocrystalline structure with an average grain size of 41 nm. The microstructure and morphology were studied by transmission electron microscopy, which show nanowire like structure with an average diameter of 42 nm. The samples were irradiated with a γ-dose using ⁶⁰Co source in the range of 100 Gy - 5000 Gy. The kinetic parameter such as activation energy (E), order of kinetics (b), and frequency factor (s) of the main glow peaks of the Sr₃B₂O₆:Dy³⁺ sample at 5000 Gy and different heating rates were determined using both the TLAnal program and Chen's method. The effect of different heating rate at a fixed dose is discussed. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to study the surface chemical composition and the electronic states.