Neutron scintillators of transparent silica xerogel monolith via a sealed container system and pi-pi interactions.
Transparent crack-free lithiated sol-gel scintillating monoliths were developed by taking advantage of a sealed container system for a syneresis and the pi-pi interactions between sol-gel components and organic fluors to yield a better homogeneity and scintillating efficiency. The transparency of the resulting materials indicates that the new scintillating material composites are mesoscopically dispersed. The silica monolith can be prepared without cladding the monolith with an engineering plastic such as a poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) or a liquid mounting medium. A successful detection of neutron particles by using these lithiated scintillating monoliths was demonstrated.
Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6201, USA.
Hee-Jung
HJ
Im
Byunghwan
B
Lee
Suree S
SS
Brown
Sheng
S
Dai
D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005782:Gels / Q000737:chemistry; D009502:Neutrons; D012588:Scintillation Counting / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D013057:Spectrum Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods
D005782:Gels; D012822:Silicon Dioxide