Polymer-based triphenyl tetrazolium chloride films for ultraviolet radiation monitoring

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation monitoring films were prepared from solutions of polymers (polyvinyl, alcohol, PVA, or polyvinyl butyral, PVB), containing triphenyl tetrazolium chloride dye (TTC). These films have a pronounced res ponse to the main UV radiation spectral regions [W-A (400-320 nm), UV-B (32 0-280 nm), and UV-C (280-180 nm)] showing different sensitivities. PVA/TTC film has its maximum sensitivity in the UV-A region, while PVB/TTC film has its maximum sensitivity in the UV-C region. Both films have almost the sam e sensitivity in the UV-B region. The radiation-induced colour change is an alysed spectrophotometrically at the maximum of the visible absorption band peaking at 492 nm wavelength. The measurement uncertainty of estimating ul traviolet radiation energy incident per unit area on the films is found to be about 3.5% (1 sigma). The study of the effect of radiance exposure, inci dent wavelength, and storage conditions have been carried out to characteri se the use of these films for actinometric monitoring artificial ultraviole t radiation sources which an used for medical and industrial applications. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.