Gamma ray has sufficient energy to ionize and displace of atoms when interacts with optoelectronic and photonic devices that are placed at γ-radiation exposure environment, can be exposed to gamma radiation, resulting the alteration of the physical properties and hence the performances of devices. A comprehensive investigation of physical properties of the semiconductor materials under the influence of gamma radiation is essential for the effective design of devices for the application in the radiation exposure environment. In this article, a potential candidate for optoelectronic and photonic devices, orthorhombic MoO3 nanoparticles with average crystallite size of 135.31 nm successfully synthesized by hydrothermal method. Then, the properties of nanoparticles exposed to low (10 kGy) and high (120 kGy) absorbed dose of γ-rays from 60Co source were characterized by XRD, FESEM, FTIR and UV–Vis–NIR spectrophotometer and effects of absorbed doses was investigated for the first time. A significant change is observed in different physical properties of α-MoO3 nanoparticles after gamma exposure. The XRD patterns reveal the average crystallite size, intensity and the degree of crystallinity decrease for low dose (10 kGy) and increases for high dose (120 kGy). The calculated average crystallite size exposed to low and high doses are 127.79 nm and 136 nm, respectively. The lattice strain and dislocation density, however, shows the opposite trend of crystallite size with absorbed doses. This result is good evidence for the deterioration of crystallinity for low dose and improvement for high dose. The FESEM results reveal the significant effects of gamma doses on the micrographs of layered structure and on grain size. The optical studies disclose that band gap increases gradually from 2.78 to 2.90 eV, this behavior is associated with the reduction of electronic localized states. These results suggest that α-MoO3 nanoparticles could tolerate high doses of gamma radiation, making it a promising candidate for optoelectronic and photonic devices for γ-ray exposure environment applications.

An investigation of 60Co gamma radiation-induced effects on the properties of nanostructured α-MoO3 for the application in optoelectronic and photonic devices

It is a misunderstanding that higher energy ion irradiation on nanomaterials has only detrimental effects on their properties. Recent research reveals that higher energy irradiation on nanostructure materials is favorable with advantageous effects. Light, medium, heavy ions, and high energy photons serve as a veritable tool to synthesized nanowires for these effects. In this article, experimental research on the impact of ion species and high energy photons irradiation on structured ZnO nanowires (ZnO-NWs) and at different ion energies (keV to MeV), ion fluences, and substrate temperatures are discussed. The study has revealed that ZnO-NWs structures were damaged at high irradiation fluence under room temperature. Moreover, the porous structures of ZnO-NWs are created by light ions irradiation at a higher temperature. It is noteworthy that the effect of these irradiation beams induced-cutting of ZnO-NWs and fabrication of nano-holes in ZnO-NWs valuable for nano-devices in space technology under harsh environment.

Irradiation-induced structural changes in ZnO nanowires

Effect of gamma (γ-) irradiation on the structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of spray pyrolysis-deposited h-MoO3 thin films

Structural and optical properties of sol-gel synthesized h-MoO 3 nanorods treated by gamma radiation

In dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) properties of nanocrystalline oxide layer of photoanode may changes when exposed to ionization radiation environment which may leads to change the cell performance. In this study, 10 µm thick TiO2 (Degussa-P25) was deposited as a photoanode film on microscopic glass slide with the doctor-blade coating. The deposited film was subjected to different gamma (γ) radiation doses (0–20 kGy) to study the effect of ionizing radiation on morphological, structural, optical and compositional characteristics of the film. At 10 kGy dose, dislocation density (DD), strain, crystallites per unit surface area (CPSA), specific surface area (SSA) of anatase phase (1 0 1) of the film were decreased abruptly, conversely, crystal size and morphology index (MI) were increased at the same radiation dose slowly. UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy results showed that in irradiated photoanode film the light transmittance and absorption depth were decreased, whereas, absorption and absorption coefficient were increased beyond the visible wavelength. The optical band gap of the irradiated film was increased by 12.5% when the gamma radiation dose increased from 0 kGy to 20 kGy. Thus, the irradiation induced changes in physio-chemical properties of nanocrystalline photoanode film may affect the DSSC cell performance.

V. vahedi

Papers

Effect of gamma radiation on the optical and structural properties of ZnO nanowires with various diameters