ABSTRACT
Processes induced by ionizing radiation concern fields such as nuclear energy, radiobiology and radiotherapy. For these applications, a thorough knowledge of the caused physical and chemical processes of radiation effects is needed to optimize the performance and operation of equipment, to ensure the safety and to master the absorbed dose. Radiation-induced phenomena as defect formation and oxidation processes typically involve a number of relaxation steps on several magnitudes of time and space. A direct observation is therefore challenging but necessary for the understanding of the complex mechanisms that exhibit often a multitude of (parallel and consecutive) reaction pathways whose efficiency and branching is dependent on conditions as temperature, concentration and surrounding. Particular ultra-fast fundamental reactions such as solvation dynamics, electron and proton transfer are still not studied in many relevant systems as existing experimental installations do not provide the necessary time resolution. After a general description of radiation chemistry and its applications fields, we present a few examples of research studies which call for new tools that overcome the actual limitations; we give the state of the art of the radiolysis installations in use and describe finally the challenges of the next generation of time-resolved radiolysis, and how in our opinion the laser driven accelerator technology in combination with optical detection schemes can face them. It is not taking a risk to predict that performance of the new radiolysis installations, based on laser-driven electron and ion bunch sources, will markedly improve our knowledge on radiation chemistry both for fundamental science and practical application.
