Highly efficient solid-state neutron scintillators based on hybrid sol-gel nanocomposite materials.
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- Kesanli, Banu; Hong, Kunlun; Meyer, Kent; Im, Hee-Jung; Dai, Sheng
- Source
- Applied Physics Letters. 11/20/2006, Vol. 89 Issue 21, p214104. 3p. 1 Diagram, 3 Graphs.
- Subject
- *COLLOIDS
*PARTICLES (Nuclear physics)
*GELATION
*LITHIUM
*ORGANIC chemistry
- Language
- ISSN
- 0003-6951
This research highlights opportunities in the formulation of neutron scintillators that not only have high scintillation efficiencies but also can be readily cast into two-dimensional detectors. Series of transparent, crack-free monoliths were prepared from hybrid polystyrene-silica nanocomposites in the presence of arene-containing alkoxide precursor through room temperature sol-gel processing. The monoliths also contain lithium-6 salicylate as a target material for neutron-capture reactions and amphiphilic scintillator solution as a fluorescent sensitizer. Polystyrene was functionalized by trimethoxysilyl group in order to enable the covalent incorporation of aromatic functional groups into the inorganic sol-gel matrices for minimizing macroscopic phase segregation and facilitating lithium-6 doping in the sol-gel samples. Neutron and alpha responses of these hybrid polystyrene-silica monoliths were explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]