Copper Organometallic Iodide Arrays for Efficient X-ray Imaging Scintillators

Hong Wang; Jian-Xin Wang; Xin Song; Tengyue He; Yang Zhou; Osama Shekhah; Luis Gutiérrez-Arzaluz; Mehmet Bayindir; Mohamed Eddaoudi; Osman M Bakr; Omar F Mohammed

doi:10.1021/acscentsci.2c01495

Copper Organometallic Iodide Arrays for Efficient X-ray Imaging Scintillators

ACS Cent Sci. 2023 Mar 10;9(4):668-674. doi: 10.1021/acscentsci.2c01495. eCollection 2023 Apr 26.

Authors

Hong Wang^{1

2}, Jian-Xin Wang¹, Xin Song², Tengyue He^{1

2}, Yang Zhou^{1

2}, Osama Shekhah¹, Luis Gutiérrez-Arzaluz^{1

2}, Mehmet Bayindir³, Mohamed Eddaoudi¹, Osman M Bakr², Omar F Mohammed^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Advanced Membranes and Porous Materials Center, Division of Physical Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
² KAUST Catalysis Center, Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
³ Center for Hybrid Nanostructures, University of Hamburg, 22761 Hamburg, Germany.

Abstract

Lead-free organic metal halide scintillators with low-dimensional electronic structures have demonstrated great potential in X-ray detection and imaging due to their excellent optoelectronic properties. Herein, the zero-dimensional organic copper halide (18-crown-6)₂Na₂(H₂O)₃Cu₄I₆ (CNCI) which exhibits negligible self-absorption and near-unity green-light emission was successfully deployed into X-ray imaging scintillators with outstanding X-ray sensitivity and imaging resolution. In particular, we fabricated a CNCI/polymer composite scintillator with an ultrahigh light yield of ∼109,000 photons/MeV, representing one of the highest values reported so far for scintillation materials. In addition, an ultralow detection limit of 59.4 nGy/s was achieved, which is approximately 92 times lower than the dosage for a standard medical examination. Moreover, the spatial imaging resolution of the CNCI scintillator was further improved by using a silicon template due to the wave-guiding of light through CNCI-filled pores. The pixelated CNCI-silicon array scintillation screen displays an impressive spatial resolution of 24.8 line pairs per millimeter (lp/mm) compared to the resolution of 16.3 lp/mm for CNCI-polymer film screens, representing the highest resolutions reported so far for organometallic-based X-ray imaging screens. This design represents a new approach to fabricating high-performance X-ray imaging scintillators based on organic metal halides for applications in medical radiography and security screening.