Green synthesis and thermoluminescent response of ZnO particles using Mimosa tenuiflora bark extract

Abstract

The continuous growth of industrial activity has led to environmental degradation, highlighting the need for alternative and environmentally friendly chemical methods for creating technological solutions for society. Green synthesis offers a promising approach for the large-scale production of materials for several applications. Herein, the synthesis of zinc oxide (ZnO) particles is proposed by a green route using Mimosa tenuiflora bark extract for evaluation of the thermoluminescent (TL) response of the produced material at different calcination temperatures (400 °C, 700 °C, and 1000 °C). The resulting material was evaluated from X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), UV–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy, and thermoluminescence (TL) measurements. The ZnO powder exhibited a single-phase wurtzite ZnO with a hexagonal unit cell crystal system with the crystallite size affected by the calcination temperature. ZnO/Teflon® pellets were prepared to assess the TL response under irradiation with a90Sr beta radiation source between 10 Gy and 300 Gy. The samples calcined at 400 and 700 °C did not show a TL response, while the samples calcined at 1000 °C exhibited an intense TL signal, with a prominent peak at 308 °C and a linear growth in the range of 10–300 Gy, reinforcing the perspectives for use of ZnO-1000/Teflon® pellets in TL dosimetry.