Bayfol is a class of polymeric solid state nuclear track detector which has many applications in various radiation detection fields. It is a Makrofol polycarbonate/polyester blend. Samples from Bayfol film have been irradiated with different fluences (10¹¹−10¹⁴ p/cm²) of 1 MeV protons at the University of Surrey Ion Beam Center, UK. The resultant effect of proton irradiation on the structural and optical properties of the Bayfol samples has been investigated using X-ray diffraction, Fourier Transform Infrared and UV spectroscopy. The optical energy gap was decreased from 4.24 to 4.03 eV with increasing the proton fluence from 10¹¹ to 10¹³ p/cm², and was accompanied by an increase in the Urbach energy from 0.79 to 1.29 eV. This could be correlated to the results obtained from XRD and FTIR spectroscopy. Further, the non-irradiated Bayfol is nearly colorless. It showed significant sensitivity to color by proton irradiation, associated with an increase in the red and yellow color components. The variation of optical and color parameters with the proton fluence indicate that the dynamic range of Bayfol UV1 7-2 is in the fluence range from 10¹¹ to 10¹³ p/cm².

Makrofol VLG 7-1 is a sort of Makrofol (bisphenol-A polycarbonate) nuclear track detector. We believe that the current study is the first one that deals with the effect of γ-ray irradiation on Makrofol VLG 7-1. Samples of Makrofol films were treated with various γ-ray dosages (20–140 kGy). The resultant outcome of the γ-ray irradiation on the thermal and optical characteristics of the Makrofol samples were explored applying thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and ultraviolet spectroscopy (UVs). The degradation temperature, activation energy of thermal decomposition, optical band gap, refractive index, Urbach energy, and optical dielectric parameters were characterized and interpreted based on the γ-ray dosage. The optical bandgap dropped from 4.26 to 4.14 eV for a γ-ray dosage of 140 kGy, accompanied with a rise in both Urbach energy and thermostability of the samples. We attribute this to the dominance of crosslinking. Additionally, the color differences between the pristine and the irradiated samples were characterized. The pristine Makrofol was uncolored. It exhibited noteworthy color changes during the γ-ray treatment, as the color intensity reached a value greater than 5. This is an acceptable match in commercial reproduction on printing presses.