Attempting to prepare a plastic scintillator from a biobased polymer

Abstract

A new plastic scintillator was prepared from a renewable polymer source. It is composed of the mighty 2,5‐diphenyloxazole and 1, 4‐bis(2‐methylstyryl)benzene molecules (PPO and bis‐MSB), acting as primary and secondary fluorophores, respectively, together dissolved in a polylactic acid matrix—PLA. This polymer is indeed considered as the biomass‐based equivalent of petroleum‐derived plastics in terms of mechanical and optical properties. Subsequent to the bis‐MSB emission, the emission wavelength is centered around 424 nm and the fluorescence decay time is in the nanosecond range. The material was fully characterized, and its scintillation performances were compared to a commercial PVT‐based plastic scintillator: EJ‐200. Like polystyrene‐ or polyvinyltoluene‐based scintillators, the material displayed a good response linearity with the energy of the incident gamma‐ray. However, the observed scintillation yield was rather modest, with a reported 500 ph/MeV value when excited with a gamma‐ray‐emitting 60Co source. This preliminary test could pave the way to new and renewable polymers for unexpected applications such as nuclear physics. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020, 137, 48724.

Additive manufacturing of a 3D-segmented plastic scintillator detector for tracking and calorimetry of elementary particles

“…These scintillators are extensively utilized in particle detectors and exhibit a light yield performance comparable to the current state of the art. Another independent work reached a similar conclusion [37]. Later, we showed a technical attenuation length of about 19 cm measured in a bar of 5 cm in length, sufficient for finegranularity scintillator detectors [38].…”

Tuning the index of refraction of a polyvinyl toluene and polystyrene copolymer toward a heterogenous, index‐matched neutron detector

“…55,56 Bulk polymerization was chosen for this copolymerization for its scalability to large cylinders needed for neutron detection and because it is the suggested approach and used by Eljen Technology for their EJ-200-based detectors. 32,57 The VT monomer used was a mixture of meta, para, and ortho isomers (CAS# 25013-15-4). The VT, styrene, 2,5-Diphenyloxazole (PPO), 1,4-Bis(5-phenyl-2-oxyzole) benzene (POPOP), and 2,2-Azobis(2-methylpropionitrile) (AIBN) used in synthesis were all purchased from Sigma Aldrich.…”

“…This work studied polymerization from monomers, not from partially polymerized resins, which the neutron detection industry had attempted previously 55,56 . Bulk polymerization was chosen for this copolymerization for its scalability to large cylinders needed for neutron detection and because it is the suggested approach and used by Eljen Technology for their EJ‐200‐based detectors 32,57 . The VT monomer used was a mixture of meta, para, and ortho isomers (CAS# 25013‐15‐4).…”

The effect of PPO concentration on the scintillation properties of a polystyrene based plastic scintillator

“…Since most PMT photocathode and silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) are more sensitive to the visible light, another material, such as 1,4-bis-[2-(5-phenyloxazolyl (POPOP), is added to the composition of plastic scintillator as a secondary fluorophore to shift light from the ultraviolet to the visible light [8]. Therefore, the optical photons are converted into electrons and amplified more efficiently, resulting in a higher output pulse [9].…”