Synergy of Organic and Inorganic Sites in 2D Perovskite for Fast Neutron and X‐Ray Imaging

Abstract

Fast neutron and X‐ray imaging are considered complementary nondestructive detection technologies. However, due to their opposite cross‐sections, development of a scintillator that is sensitive to both fast neutrons and X‐rays within a single‐material framework remains challenging. Herein, an organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite (C4H9NH3)2PbBr4 (BPB) is demonstrated as a scintillator that fully meets the requirements for both fast neutron and X‐ray detection. The hydrogen‐rich organic component acts as a fast neutron converter and produces detectable recoil protons. The heavy atom‐rich inorganic fraction efficiently deposits the energy of charged recoil protons and directly provides a large X‐ray cross‐section. Due to the synergy of these organic and inorganic components, the BPB scintillator exhibits high light yields (86% of the brightness of a commercial ZnS (Ag)/6LiF scintillator for fast neutrons; 22 000 photons per MeV for X‐rays) and fast response times (τdecay = 10.3 ns). More importantly, energy‐selective fast neutron and X‐ray imaging are also demonstrated, with high resolutions of ≈1 lp mm−1 for fast neutrons and 17.3 lp mm−1 for X‐rays; these are among the highest resolution levels for 2D perovskite scintillators. This study highlights the potential of 2D perovskite materials for use in combined fast neutron and X‐ray imaging applications.

Capillary Manganese Halide Needle‐Like Array Scintillator with Isolated Light Crosstalk for Micro‐X‐Ray Imaging

“…Recently, metal halide perovskite nanocrystals (MHPNCs) have garnered considerable attention as an emerging scintillator owing to their high-Z atom existence, high light-emission efficiency, fast decay time, and facile solution synthesis processes. [30][31][32][33][34][35][36] Several investigations have explored the integration of high-refractiveindex MHPNC scintillators into a low-refractive-index anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) array template to achieve high imaging res-olution through total internal reflection at the interface. [13][14][15]24,36] However, this strategy comes with several limitations: 1) the thin thickness (typically below 50 μm) and low porosity of AAO greatly limit the X-ray absorption and light output of the array scintillators; 2) the fragility of AAO templates reduces the qualification rate during array scintillator processing, which is very costly for large-scale production; 3) the unavoidable self-absorption behavior caused by the intrinsic small Stokes shift in MHPNCs, which greatly affects the light output efficiency during longdistance propagation; and 4) the poor stability and toxicity associated with lead also hinder their practical applications.…”

Flexible and Reabsorption-Free Perovskite Scintillators for Low-Dose X-ray Detection and High-Resolution Imaging

“…19 Shao et al designed organic−inorganic perovskite (C 4 H 9 NH 3 ) 2 PbBr 4 as a scintillator that meets the requirements for fast X-ray detection, which exhibits high light yields (22,000 photons MeV −1 ) due to the synergy of the organic and inorganic components. 20 However, it should be noted that owing to the small Stokes shift of perovskites, their photon reabsorption will significantly affect the detection performance. 21−25 To obtain an ideal perovskite scintillator with high sensitivity, high efficiency, and low loss, perovskites' reabsorption should be effectively avoided.…”

“…Metal halide perovskites have excellent optical properties and radiation detection capabilities, making them highly promising in X-ray radiation. − Cho et al proposed mixing 2,5-diphenyloxazole and colloidal halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs), demonstrating that the novel liquid scintillator has high quantum yields for efficient X-ray detection . Shao et al designed organic–inorganic perovskite (C 4 H 9 NH 3 ) 2 PbBr 4 as a scintillator that meets the requirements for fast X-ray detection, which exhibits high light yields (22,000 photons MeV –1 ) due to the synergy of the organic and inorganic components . However, it should be noted that owing to the small Stokes shift of perovskites, their photon reabsorption will significantly affect the detection performance. − To obtain an ideal perovskite scintillator with high sensitivity, high efficiency, and low loss, perovskites’ reabsorption should be effectively avoided. − For instance, Ma et al doped Eu 3+ into CsPbBr 3 nanocrystals, utilizing intrinsic 5 D 0 to 7 F j transition of Eu3+ to prevent perovskite’s bandgap absorption.…”

Exploring a nanostructured X-ray optical device for improved spatial resolution in laboratory X-ray diffraction imaging

“…Because XRD generally involves X-ray irradiation over the entire sample surface, it yields the average crystal structure of the sample. An XRD imaging method that includes X-ray optical devices can control the shape of the incident or diffracted X-ray beam to give the crystal structure distribution in a sample (Vanmeert et al, 2018;Sun et al, 2018;Wroblewski & Bjeoumikhov, 2005;Shao et al, 2023;Levine & Long, 2004;MacDonald et al, 1999;Li et al, 2008;Rouzie `re et al, 2010;Allahkarami & Hanan, 2011;Lane et al, 2014;Yamanashi et al, 2015). X-ray imaging is an effective analytical method as it can simplify the pre-treatment and analysis traditionally required.…”