A Poly(HEMA)10B hydrogel for thermal neutron detection

TRIVIÑO S; VALENTE M; MATTEA F; KEIL W; ROMERO M; VEDELAGO J; ÁLVAREZ IGARZABAL C

Córdoba

Simposio; 14th International Symposium on Radiation Physics (ISRP-14); 2018

International Radiation Physics Society (IRPS)

Modalidad: Presentación oral.The use of thermal neutrons (nth) with compounds based on isotopes of boron has numerous advantages over treatments like chemotherapy, surgery or radiation for cancer therapy. The determination of neutron fluence and delivered dose in a mixed radiation field is not simple but is essential for the design of an oncological treatment. With the aim of measuring dose distribution in X-ray radiation therapy, polymers have been used as dosimetric materials with great success. However, there is still no polymeric material able to register directly nth in mixed fields. The main goal of this study was to develop an original material to detect nth. The synthesis of the novel polymeric material was carried out with 2-Hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEMA) cross-linked with different concentrations of boric acid-10B. In every synthesis gel type materials were obtained and those with the highest concentration of 10B were further used in mixed fields due to their better response to nth. Materials were irradiated with an X-ray tube coupled to a W anode with a maximum power of 3 kW and in a nuclear reactor of zero power. Differences in the structural properties of the irradiated and original materials were assesed by means of SEM and rehology measurements. The results elucidate changes in the homogeneity of the physical structure and a lower elastic modulus on materials irradiated with mixed fields compared to those irradiated with photon beams, which could be further improved to obtain a new type of thermal neutron detectors.