Zn2+ Doping in Organic Manganese(II) Bromide Hybrid Scintillators toward Enhanced Light Yield for X-Ray Imaging

Metal halide scintillators have drawn great interest for X-ray imaging; however, it remains challenging to simultaneously achieve a high light yield (LY) and highly sensitive detection. Herein, Zn2+ is successfully introduced into [TPPen](2)MnBr4 (TPPMB, TPPen = pentyltriphenylphosphonium) and the synthesis of [TPPen](2)Mn0.9Zn0.1Br4 (TPPMZB) is designed. The LY increases from 43 000 for TPPMB to 68 000 photons MeV-1 for TPPMZB in virtue of the Zn atom doping. Additionally, the detection limit of TPPMZB is 204.1 nGy s(-1), showing great improvement to that of TPPMB with the value of 696.9 nGy s(-1). X-ray imaging is realized by utilizing the large-scale scintillator film fabricated by mixing polydimethylsiloxane with TPPMZB or TPPMB, and the spatial resolution is enlarged from 4.6 to 11.2 lp mm(-1) after Zn2+-doping. This study provides a design principle by doping engineering for enhancing the LY property of metal halide X-ray scintillators.

Automated summary

Metal halide scintillators with high light yield and sensitive detection are achieved by introducing Zn2+ into [TPPen](2)MnBr4. The introduction of Zn atoms enhances the light yield from 43,000 to 68,000 photons MeV-1 and decreases the detection limit from 696.9 nGy s(-1) to 204.1 nGy s(-1). X-ray imaging is realized using large-scale scintillator films made with TPPMZB or TPPMB, and the spatial resolution is improved from 4.6 to 11.2 lp mm(-1) after Zn2+ doping.