All-Inorganic Copper Halide as a Stable and Self-Absorption-Free X-ray Scintillator
Xue Zhao, Guangda Niu, Jinsong Zhu, Bo Yang, Jun‐Hui Yuan, Shunran Li, Wanru Gao, Qingsong Hu, Lixiao Yin, Kan‐Hao Xue, Efrat Lifshitz, Xiangshui Miao, Jiang Tang
Abstract
Lead halide perovskites have recently shown great potential as X-ray scintillators; however, the toxicity of the lead element seriously restricts their applications. Herein we report a new lead-free and self-absorption-free scintillator based on Rb2CuCl3 metal halide. The Rb2CuCl3 exhibits a near-unity photoluminescence quantum yield (99.4%) as well as a long photoluminescence lifetime (11.3 μs). Furthermore, Rb2CuCl3 demonstrates an appreciable light yield of 16 600 photons per megaelectronvolt and a large scintillation response with a linear range from 48.6 nGyair s–1 to 15.7 μGyair s–1. Notably, the detection limit is as low as 88.5 nGyair s–1, enabling a reduced radiation dose to the human body when a medical and security check is conducted. In addition, Rb2CuCl3 exhibits good stability against the atmosphere, continuous ultraviolet light, as well as X-ray irradiation. The combination of the decent scintillation performance, low toxicity and good stability suggests the Rb2CuCl3 could be a possible promising X-ray scintillator.