Journal of the American Chemical Society
Journal of the American Chemical Society
5 years ago

Taking Advantage of Disorder: Small-Molecule Organic Glasses for Radiation Detection and Particle Discrimination

Taking Advantage of Disorder: Small-Molecule Organic Glasses for Radiation Detection and Particle Discrimination
Peter Marleau, Patrick L. Feng, Ryan A. Zarkesh, Joseph S. Carlson
A series of fluorescent silyl-fluorene molecules were synthesized and studied with respect to their photophysical properties and response toward ionizing neutron and gamma-ray radiation. Optically transparent and stable organic glasses were prepared from these materials using a bulk melt-casting procedure. The prepared organic glass monoliths provided fluorescence quantum yields and radiation detection properties exceeding the highest-performing benchmark materials such as solution-grown trans-stilbene crystals. Co-melts based on blends of two different glass-forming compounds were prepared with the goal of enhancing the stability of the amorphous state. Accelerated aging experiments on co-melt mixtures ranging from 0% to 100% of each component indicated improved resistance to recrystallization in the glass blends, able to remain fully amorphous for >1 month at 60 °C. Secondary dopants comprising singlet fluorophores or iridium organometallic compounds provided further improved detection efficiency, as evaluated by light yield and neutron/gamma particle discrimination measurements. Optimized singlet and triplet doping levels were determined to be 0.05 wt % 1,4-bis(2-methylstyryl)benzene singlet fluorophore and 0.28 wt % Ir3+, respectively.

Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jacs.7b03989

DOI: 10.1021/jacs.7b03989

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