Abstract
A colorless polyvinyl butyral film (PVB) based on radiation-sensitive dye of leucomalachite green (LMG) was investigated as a high-dose dosimeter for gamma radiation processing applications in the dose range of 3-150 kGy. The useful applications for such dose range are food irradiation treatment, medical devices sterilization and polymer modification. Gamma irradiation of the film induces a significant intensity of green color, which can be characterized by a main absorption band at 627 nm and a small band at 425 nm. The variation in response of irradiated film stored in the dark and under laboratory light illumination was less than 3% during the first 6 days of storage. The response of film during irradiation was slightly influenced by relative humidity in the range of 12-76%; however, it was significantly affected by temperature in the range of 5-40 degrees C. The radiation chemical yield was reported to be 6.76 x 10(-6) mol/J at the absorbed dose of 30 kGy for the film containing 6.5% of LMG dye. The overall uncertainty associated with routine dose monitoring would be less than 6% at a 95% confidence level if the dosimeter was being corrected for irradiation conditions and being calibrated with reference standard dosimeter in the production facility. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.