Preparation and Characterization of Organic-Inorganic Composite Scintillators Loaded with LiF-CaF2:Eu Eutectic Powder

doi:10.15541/jim20250163

Abstract

Abstract: Thermal neutron technology is widely applied in many fields, such as homeland security, nuclear non-proliferation, nuclear energy development, industrial nondestructive testing, and nuclear physics research. It is urgent to develop efficient materials for thermal neutron detection. Existing commercially available thermal neutron detection materials still face many developmental challenges in terms of detecting performance and manufacturing cost. Due to the prominent advantages of organic-inorganic composite scintillators, such as simple preparation, low cost, and flexible composition combination, they have recently received increasing attention. In this study, we successfully prepared a series of organic-inorganic composite scintillators sensitive to thermal neutrons by uniformly dispersing 0-20% (in mass) of LiF-CaF₂:Eu eutectic powder, synthesized via solid-state reaction, in organic polystyrene (PS) matrixes. The XRD patterns, SEM morphologies, and elemental distributions of the synthesized LiF-CaF₂:Eu eutectic powder were analyzed. The radioluminescence (RL) and optical transmittance (OT) of the prepared composite scintillators were evaluated, and comparisons were made between LiF-CaF₂:Eu eutectic powder and LiF/CaF₂:Eu mixed powder as inorganic additives. Using the cadmium difference method (CDM) and pulse shape discrimination (PSD) technologies, the thermal neutron detection performance of composite scintillators loaded with LiF-CaF₂:Eu (natural Li abundance) and ⁶LiF-CaF₂:Eu (95% enriched ⁶Li) eutectic powder was systematically investigated. Compared to composites filled with LiF/CaF₂:Eu mixed powder, those filled with LiF-CaF₂:Eu eutectic powder exhibited better optical transmittance and higher radiation luminescence intensity, which increased with the addition of more eutectic powder. Increasing the abundance of ⁶Li can effectively improve thermal neutron detection efficiency, and the figure of merit (FOM) for thermal neutron/gamma discrimination in composite scintillators can reach 2.64. As a promising novel scintillator for thermal neutron detection, the composite scintillators loaded with LiF-CaF₂:Eu eutectic powder show excellent thermal neutron detection and thermal neutron/gamma differentiation.

Key words: composite scintillator, thermal neutron detection, LiF-CaF₂:Eu, eutectic, discrimination

CLC Number:

TL812

ZHOU Qi, LI Xiang, ZHANG Kaihui, WANG Zeliang, DENG Mingxue, JIA Wenbao, WANG Ke, CHEN Junfeng. Preparation and Characterization of Organic-Inorganic Composite Scintillators Loaded with LiF-CaF₂:Eu Eutectic Powder[J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, DOI: 10.15541/jim20250163.

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Preparation and Characterization of Organic-Inorganic Composite Scintillators Loaded with LiF-CaF₂:Eu Eutectic Powder

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