Optimization of phosphor concentration of surface‐modified Bi2O3 nanoparticle‐loaded plastic scintillators for high‐energy photon detection

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics Vol. 32; no. 6; pp. 7987 - 7999
• Main Authors: Magi, Arisa, Koshimizu, Masanori, Watanabe, Akito, Yoko, Akira, Seong, Gimyeong, Tomai, Takaaki, Adschiri, Tadafumi, Haruki, Rie, Nishikido, Fumihiko, Kishiomto, Shunji, Fujimoto, Yutaka, Asai, Keisuke
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.03.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Bismuth oxides; Bismuth trioxide; Channels; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Materials Science; Nanoparticles; Optical and Electronic Materials; Optimization; Phosphors; Photoelectricity; Photons; Scintillation counters
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-021-05522-4

In this study, the 3-phenylpropionic acid (3-PPA)-modified Bi 2 O 3 nanoparticle-loaded plastic scintillators were synthesized to obtain fast scintillators having high detection efficiency of high-energy X-rays. To reach a high light yield, the content of 2-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-5-(4-phenylphenyl))-1,3,4-oxadiazole (b-PBD) in the plastic scintillators was optimized. The detection efficiency for high-energy photons was enhanced by the incorporation of surface-modified Bi 2 O 3 nanoparticles of less than 10 nm into scintillators at 5 or 10 wt%. In the pulse-height spectra, the photoelectric peak positions were located at the highest channels for the samples containing 0.50 or 1.0 mol% b-PBD regardless of the Bi concentration. The photoelectric peak positions shifted to lower channels with a further increase in the b-PBD concentration, which indicates that the light yield decreased due to concentration quenching. In addition, the time resolution of the detector equipped with the studied samples was of the sub-nanosecond scale, suggesting that they had a very fast response.