A hollow NaBiF4:Tb nanoscintillator with ultra-weak afterglow for high-resolution X-ray imaging

Huirong Zou; Minghao Yi; Shiqing Xu; Lei Lei

doi:10.1039/d3cc03821a

A hollow NaBiF₄:Tb nanoscintillator with ultra-weak afterglow for high-resolution X-ray imaging

Chem Commun (Camb). 2023 Sep 28;59(78):11732-11735. doi: 10.1039/d3cc03821a.

Authors

Huirong Zou¹, Minghao Yi¹, Shiqing Xu¹, Lei Lei¹

Affiliation

¹ Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Optoelectronic Materials and Devices of Zhejiang Province, College of Optical and Electronic Technology, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China. leilei@cjlu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37702996
DOI: 10.1039/d3cc03821a

Abstract

Compared with commercial bulk scintillators and halide perovskites, lanthanide-doped fluoride nanoscintillators (NSs) exhibit high photochemical stability, low bio-toxicity and tunable emissions. However, the widely employed hosts, such as NaGdF₄, NaLuF₄ and NaYF₄, need many expensive rare earth salts and time-consuming reaction processes. In this work, lanthanide-doped NaBiF₄ NSs were prepared by a facile rapid room-temperature reaction method. The obtained NSs present a hollow structure, strong scintillation intensity and ultra-weak afterglow. The scintillation intensity was enhanced by incorporating Gd³⁺ ions, but it was decreased after codoping with Ho³⁺ or Er³⁺ ions. By employing a NaBiF₄:15Tb/10Gd NS integrated thin film as a nanoscintillator screen, a high spatial resolution of 12.5 lp mm^-1 was achieved. Our results could promote the exploration of new kinds of NSs with low cost, high production and superior performances.