In this research, for the first time, the polycarbonate/bismuth oxide (PC–Bi2O3) composite was studied as a beta-ray sensor using a pure beta-emitter 90Sr source. Firstly, the range and stopping power of the electrons in the composite at various loadings of 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 wt% were calculated using the ESTAR program. Results of simulation demonstrated that the concentration of the heavy metal oxide particles into the polymer matrix played an important role in evaluating the range and stopping power of the electrons in the composite. Secondly, at the experimental phase, the pure Polycarbonate and 50 wt% PC–Bi2O3 nanocomposite with dimensions of 4 × 4 × 0.1 cm3 were prepared and irradiated by 90Sr. Also, current–voltage (I–V) plot exhibited linear response ranging from 100 to 1000 V at the fixed source‐to‐surface distance (SSD). Then the amount of electric current as the sensor response was measured in various dose rates at the fixed voltage of 400 V for the pure Polycarbonate and 50 wt% PC–Bi2O3 nanocomposite using an electrometer, in which results showed that the sensitivities were found as 20.3, and 33.3 nC mSv−1 cm−3, respectively. This study showed that this composite could serve as a novel beta-ray sensor.
In this research, for the first time, the detection response of Polycarbonate/Bismuth oxide composite to a pure beta-emitter 90Sr with two energies of 546.2 keV, and 2.28 MeV is studied. Firstly, the range and stopping power of the electrons of 90Sr in the composite at various concentrations of 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 wt% were calculated using the ESTAR program. Results of simulation demonstrated that the concentration of the heavy metal oxide particles into the polymer matrix played an important role to evaluate the range and stopping power of the electrons in the composite. Secondly, at the experimental phase, the sample of 50 wt% composite with dimensions of 4 cm×4 cm×0.1 cm3 was prepared. Afterwards, the sample was irradiated by 90Sr and the amount of electric current was measured using an electrometer at voltages of 100-1000 V. Additionally, the I-V plot exhibited a linear response at different voltages in the fixed source surface distance. Results of this study showed that this composite can serve as a novel beta detector.
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