Radiation Measurements 42 (2007) 665 – 667 www.elsevier.com/locate/radmeas Thermoluminescence properties of copper doped zirconium oxide for UVR dosimetry T. Rivera a , ∗ , L. Olvera b , A. Martínez c , D. Molina c , J. Azorín b , M. Barrera b , A.M. Soto b , R. Sosa b , C. Furetta a a Centro de Investigación en Ciencia Aplicada y Tecnología Avanzada-Legaria, IPN, 11500 México D.F., México b Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, 11500 México D.F., México c Centro de Protección e Higiene de las Radiaciones, Habana, Cuba Received 18 December 2006; accepted 31 January 2007 Abstract The synthesized ZrO 2 :Cu particles were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) to determine the nanocrystallite size and crystal structure, respectively. The ZrO 2 :Cu powder with a crystallite size of 30–40 nm has a monoclinic structure and exhibit a thermoluminescent (TL) glow curve with two peaks centered at 130 and 180 ◦ C. The TL response of ZrO 2 :Cu as a function of wavelength exhibited two maxima at 260 and 290 nm. The TL response of ZrO 2 :Cu as a function of the UV light spectral irradiance was linear in the range from 10 to 2300 mJ/cm 2 . Fading and reusability of the phosphor were also studied. The results showed that ZrO 2 :Cu nanopowder has potential to be used as a UV dosimeter in UV radiation monitoring. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: UV radiation dosimetry; Sol–gel method; Thermoluminescence of ZrO 2 :Cu; Nanopowder 1. Introduction Nanomaterials require the synthesis of high purity powders with a precise control of the composition, size, size distribution and morphology (Zhang et al., 2002). In this context, nano- material science is a new rapidly expanding area in materials research, which is devoted to understanding of the changes in the fundamental material properties as a function of the particle size. The sol–gel process based on the hydrolytic decomposi- tion of metal alkoxides has been successfully used for the syn- thesis of a large number of monometal oxide phases; this pro- cess is now extended to bimetallic oxides. The sol–gel method offers specific advantages in the preparation of oxide ceramics (Hench and John, 1990; Brinker and Sherrer, 1989). The early formation of a gel provides a high degree of homogeneity and reduces the need for atomic diffusion during the solid state cal- cinations (Chandler et al., 1993). Zirconia oxide is an oxide ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +52 5557 7596; fax: +52 5557 5103. E-mail address: trivera@ipn.mx (T. Rivera). 1350-4487/$ - see front matter © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.radmeas.2007.01.063 ceramic with a wide range of current and potential applications (Chandler et al., 1993; Somiya et al., 1988; Heuer and Hobbs, 1981). In recent years, zirconium oxide (ZrO 2 ) has attracted great interest for its practical applications as a thermolumines- cent phosphor (Rivera et al., 2005). For monitoring the ultraviolet radiation (UVR) different materials have been employed using the thermoluminescence (TL) method (Driscoll, 1996; Chang and Su, 1993; Su and Yeh, 1996; Colyott et al., 1997,1999). This technique has an advantage over other methods owing to the simplicity of the sample readout. Another advantages of this method and these phosphors include their small size, portability, lack of electrical power requirements, linear response to the increas- ing radiation dose and high sensitivity. The large interest in TL as a technique for radiation dosimetry in environmental, personal and clinical applications pushes the research for pro- ducing new and high-performance TL materials. Zirconium oxide have recently received considerable attention in view of its possible use as a TL dosimeter (TLD), if doped with suitable activators. ZrO 2 was firstly proposed in 1990 as a TL material showing good dosimetric performances under the