Polymer-carbon nanostructures have been used as gamma-ray dosimeters. The thickness of the sensitive volume material plays an important role in the determination of the dosimetry response. In this work, the thickness effect of a real-time dosimeter based on the Epoxy/Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) nanocomposite was investigated. The amount of electrical percolation threshold (EPT) for Epoxy/MWCNT nanocomposite was initially simulated using the finite element method. Then, the 0.1 MWCNT wt% nanocomposite was fabricated using a solution method with three thicknesses of 1, 2, and 3 mm. FESEM images demonstrated a good dispersion state of the inclusions into the Epoxy matrix. The samples were irradiated by gamma-rays of Co-60 source over the dose rates of 25-166 mGy/min. In addition, dosimetric characteristics were performed, including linearity, bias-polarity, angular dependence, energy dependence, field size, and repeatability. Results revealed that with increasing the thickness, the dosimetry response was enhanced remarkably.
Keywords: Dose rate; Dosimetry; Epoxy/MWCNT nanocomposite; Gamma-rays; Thickness.
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