Highly efficient eco-friendly X-ray scintillators based on an organic manganese halide

Scintillation based X-ray detection has received great attention for its application in a wide range of areas from security to healthcare. Here, we report highly efficient X-ray scintillators with state-of-the-art performance based on an organic metal halide, ethylenebis-triphenylphosphonium manganese (II) bromide ((C₃₈H₃₄P₂)MnBr₄), which can be prepared using a facile solution growth method at room temperature to form inch sized single crystals. This zero-dimensional organic metal halide hybrid exhibits green emission peaked at 517 nm with a photoluminescence quantum efficiency of ~ 95%. Its X-ray scintillation properties are characterized with an excellent linear response to X-ray dose rate, a high light yield of ~ 80,000 photon MeV⁻¹, and a low detection limit of 72.8 nGy s⁻¹. X-ray imaging tests show that scintillators based on (C₃₈H₃₄P₂)MnBr₄ powders provide an excellent visualization tool for X-ray radiography, and high resolution flexible scintillators can be fabricated by blending (C₃₈H₃₄P₂)MnBr₄ powders with polydimethylsiloxane.