Ce3+-doped alkaline-earth sulfide nanocrystals for X-ray scintillation imaging screens

Abstract

Rare-earth Ce³⁺-doped scintillators are attracting considerable attention for X-ray detection. However, large-area and fast scintillation screens using monodispersed scintillator nanocrystals (NCs) remain a challenge in X-ray imaging. Herein, we fabricated Ce³⁺-doped alkaline-earth metal sulfide NCs by a high-temperature co-precipitation method. The as-prepared SrS:Ce³⁺ and CaS:Ce³⁺ NCs show a bright blue-green emission originating from the d–f transition of Ce³⁺, and the NCs exhibit good X-ray scintillation performance with a detection limit as low as 0.66 μGy_air s⁻¹ and excellent anti-irradiation stability. We further successfully fabricated a homogeneous hybrid scintillation film by embedding scintillator NCs in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and demonstrated the imaging effect of the film as an X-ray screen. This work highlights the potential of Ce³⁺-doped scintillator NCs for efficient X-ray detection.