Drastic effects of fast neutrons and γ-irradiation on the DC conductivity of Co-, Ni-, Mn- and Ag-gelatin doped films

The effect of fast neutron fluencies and γ-rays on the DC conductivity, ln(σ), for pure gelatin and that doped with 5, 10, and 15 wt% of CoCl₂ · 6H₂O, and 5 wt% of NiCl₂ · 6H₂O, MnCl₂ · 2H₂O and AgNO₃ has been respectively investigated at different temperatures. Fast neutron fluencies and γ-rays doses are set from 7.60 × 10⁵ to 0.50 × 10⁹ N/cm², and 0.25 up to 1.50 Gy, respectively. The calculated values of activation energies (E_a) are found to be dependent on the radiation doses. The conductivity of gelatin samples shows an interesting behavior, which depends on the dopant Co concentration and the exposure dose. DC conductivity of the investigated samples reveals that the ionic conduction has been established at higher temperatures and fast neutron fluencies and γ-rays doses, while the electronic one plays an important role at lower temperatures. This has been related to the crosslinking formations as a result of the interaction between the exposure dose and gelatin sample. The attained results suggest strongly the applicability of these materials in dosimetry.