High-energy X-ray detection by hafnium-doped organic-inorganic hybrid scintillators prepared by sol-gel method

With the aim of enhancing the efficiency with which plastic scintillators detect high-energy X-rays, hafnium-doped organic-inorganic hybrid scintillators were fabricated via a sol-gel method. Transmission electron microscopy of sampled material reveals the presence of HfxSi1−xO2 nanoparticles, dispersed in a polymer matrix that constitutes the active material of the X-ray detector. With HfxSi1−xO2 nanoparticles incorporated in the polymer matrix, the absorption edge and the luminescence wavelength is shifted, which we attribute to Mie scattering. The detection efficiency for 67.4-keV X-rays in a 0.6-mm-thick piece of this material is two times better than the same thickness of a commercial plastic scintillator-NE142.