Radiation damage in single crystal L-Histidine as studied by low-temperature thermoluminescence techniques

• Published in: Journal of luminescence 1982, Vol.26 (3), p.319-328
• Main Authors: Cooke, D.Wayne, Fortner, Sharon L., Jahan, M.Shah
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0022-2313; 1872-7883
• DOI: 10.1016/0022-2313(82)90058-8

X-irradiation of single crystal L-Histidine at 10 K produces TL glow peaks at 38, 72, 84, 122, 162, 204, and 245 K. The 84 K peak is the most intense one and is characterized by a thermal activation energy of 0.073 eV and frequency factor of 1.1×10 3s -1. Moreover, it is readily photobleachable, whereas the other glow peaks are not, and is tentatively correlated with the thermal decay of a carboxyl anion radical. Computer simulation of the Randall-Wilkins first-order TL expression provided a check on the experimentally derived parameters characterizing the 38 and 84 K peaks. The initial-rise method did not produce accurate parameters for the 38 K peak; however, computer simulation yielded an activation energy of 0.022 eV and a frequency factor of 20 s -1 which were in agreement with the experimental shape of the glow curve. This TL peak is attributed to the thermal destruction of an imidazole cation radical. Emission spectra measurements of the 84 K luminescence (other peaks were of insufficient intensity) indicated that TL results from thermal release of electrons and their subsequent de-excitation to the ground state via the singlet and triplet manifolds. At sufficiently high temperatures (∼78 K) one only observes singlet state emission due to intersystem crossing.