Gamma Radiation Dosimetry Characteristics of Hydrothermally Synthesized TiO<inf>2</inf> Nanorods

We report gamma radiation-induced effects on the electrical properties of low-cost and easily scalable synthesis of TiO2 nanorods of diameter ~ 20–80 nm on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO)-coated glass substrates using the hydrothermal method. X-ray diffraction studies show a rutile crystallographic phase which is highly textured along the (002) crystallographic plane. These nanorods are uniformly grown on FTO/glass substrate and nearly aligned normally to the surface plane. Raman studies confirm the observed rutile phase, showing all probable Raman vibrational modes. The bandgap of the synthesized TiO2 nanorods is around ~ 3.14 eV. 60Co gamma radiation source is used for irradiating gamma doses from 375 mGy to 3000 mGy. We observed that the leakage current increases linearly with increasing gamma radiation dose. These findings suggest that TiO2 nanorods on FTO/glass substrates can be used for efficient gamma radiation dosimetry.