Ionising radiation effect on the luminescence emission of inorganic and biogenic calcium carbonates

Abstract

As known, the luminescence emission of mineral phases could be potentially employed for dosimetric purposes in the case of radiological terrorism or radiation accident where conventional monitoring is not available. In this sense, this paper reports on the thermo- (TL) and cathodoluminescence (CL) emission of both biogenic (common periwinkle – littorina littorera – shell made of calcite 90% and aragonite 10%) and inorganic (aragonite 100%) Ca-rich carbonates previously characterized by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Whereas the aragonite sample displays the main CL waveband peaked in the red region (linked to point defects), the more intense emission obtained from the common periwinkle shell appears at higher energies (mainly associated with structural defects). The UV-blue TL emission of the samples, regardless of the origin, displays (i) an acceptable ionizing radiation sensitivity, (ii) linear dose response in the range of interest (up to 8 Gy), (iii) reasonable stability of the TL signal after 700 h of storage with an initial decay of ca. 88% for the mineral sample and 60% for the biogenic sample and maintaining the stability from 150 h onwards. (iv) The tests of thermal stability of the TL emission performed in the range of 180–320 °C confirm a continuum in the trap system.