Ionizing Radiation Induced Radicals

When ionizing radiation passes through a material it imparts some of its energy to that material. The imparted energy may be high enough to cause a break in bonds inside the molecules or between molecules or both, in such cases, free radicals are created. The type, lifetime, extent, fate and origin of those free radicals may differ according to several factors; most of them are beyond the subject of this chapter. However, the abundance of ionizing radiation induced radicals in a material is directly proportional (unless saturated) to the amount of ionizing radiation received by that material, hence it could be a method for determination of radiation doses passively by accurate evaluation of the extent of free radicals created. Study of radiation induced radicals is not always related to radiation dose assessment; sometimes it is of great importance to investigate what type of radicals are produced when a specific material is exposed to a specific radiation dose, and for how long those induced radicals can persist. This could be of specific interest specially when dealing with environments of high radiation levels, for example: in space environments. Behavior of radiation induced radicals may lead to further understanding of molecular interactions or molecular dynamics, or may lead to a decision on the preference of a material for a specific design from the material science point of view.