Study of Radiation-Induced Processes in Electron-Irradiated Alkali-Silicate Glass

Abstract

The formation of a localized charge upon irradiation of colorless silicate glass containing Na, K, and Ba is investigated. Irradiation is performed in the sterilizing mode in air at room temperature using an Elektronika U-003 electron accelerator (average power 4 MeV). The integral fluence is accumulated in 6 stages of sequential irradiation from 1.8 × 10¹³ to 1.8 × 10¹⁵ e/cm², which corresponds to exposure doses ranging from 0.3 to 30 MR. The irradiation creates a permanent dark brown coloration of the glass, which protects the medicinal products from sunlight. The absorption spectra demonstrates a red shift of the absorption edge from 300 to 500 nm depending on the accumulated exposure dose, which is typical for charged metal-containing nanoparticles of 20 to 30 nm.