Abstract
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•Spinel structure is confirmed for all the irradiated films via XRD.•An increase of Eg from 2.20 to 2.70 eV, is noted as the γ-radiation increased.•Appearance of new emission peaks in photoluminescence study may be of interest in some sensitivity areas.
This paper reports the results of the structural and optical study of gamma irradiated Mn3O4 sprayed thin films having thickness of the order of 2 μm. Mn3O4 thin samples were irradiated by different gamma-rays doses (25, 50 and 100 kGy). First, the structural features of as-deposited and γ- irradiated films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). XRD Results show that the average grain size and the degree of the crystallinity depend strongly on the irradiation dose. Second, the optical properties for as-deposited and exposed thin films were analyzed. It was found that the optical transmittance coefficient of irradiated samples increases. Moreover, the optical energy gap value determined by means of the absorption coefficient increases from 2.20 to 2.70 eV with increasing absorbed dose. Finally, the effect of such irradiation on photoluminescence (PL) properties was also studied. It is found an enhancement of the photoluminescence property of such films for gamma doses 25–50 kGy. This may be of interest for possible use of these films in sensitivity domains such as photocatalysis and gas sensors.