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This work reports on radiochromic dosimeters for 1D UV light measurements. The dosimeter is composed of a 25% Pluronic F–127 that forms a physical gel matrix and nitro blue tetrazolium chloride (NBT) as a radiation-sensitive compound. This dosimeter was exposed to UVA, UVB and UVC radiation, and the radiochromic reactions were followed with reflectance spectrophotometry including changes in light reflectance and color coordinates in the CIELAB color system. The exposition of dosimeters to all UV radiation caused color changes from pale yellow to dark violet, and its intensity increased with increasing absorbed dose. The effects of NBT concentration and UV radiation type on the dose–response of the dosimeters were also examined. The results obtained reveal that the dosimeters are the least sensitive to irradiation with UVC and the most sensitive to irradiation with UVB (e.g., dosimeter with 2 g/dm3 of NBT was characterized by the following parameters: the threshold dose 0.1 J/cm2; the dose sensitivity −5.97 ± 0.69 cm2/J; the linear dose range 0.1–2.5 J/cm2; the dynamic dose range was equal to 0.1–3 J/cm2). The results obtained reveal that the NBT–Pluronic F–127 dosimeters can be potentially useful as 1D sensors for artificial UV radiation sources measurements.

This work reports on the surface-modified woven fabrics for use as UV radiation sensors. The cotton and polyamide fabrics were printed with radiochromic hydrogels using a screen-printing method. The hydrogels used as a printing paste were composed of water, poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(propylene oxide)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (Pluronic F-127) as a gel matrix and nitro blue tetrazolium chloride as a radiation-sensitive compound. The development of the hydrogels’ colour occurs after exposure to UV radiation and its intensity increases with increasing absorbed dose. The features of the NBT-Pluronic F-127 radiochromic hydrogels and the fabrics printed with the hydrogels were examined using UV-Vis and reflectance spectrophotometry as well as scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effects of NBT concentration and UV radiation type (UVA, UVB, UVC) on dose responses of the hydrogels and printed fabrics were also examined. The results obtained reveal that the fabrics printed with NBT-Pluronic F-127 hydrogels can be potentially useful as UV radiation sensors.