Flexible and Eco-Friendly X-ray Scintillators

Dr. Ma has recently developed highly efficient X-ray scintillators with state-of-the-art performance based on organic metal halide hybrids, which could be prepared using a facile solution growth method at room temperature to form inch-sized single crystals. These organic-inorganic hybrid materials with a zero-dimensional
(0D) structure at the molecular level exhibit tunable emissions in the visible spectrum region with high photoluminescence quantum efficiencies (PLQEs) of up to 100%. X-ray imaging tests have showed that scintillators based on powders could provide an excellent visualization tool for X-ray radiography, and
flexible scintillators could be fabricated by blending powders with polymer matrix, such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). 

These X-ray scintillators have numerous advantages over currently-used materials:

1. The scintillation materials are low cost (~ 1/10 of commercially available products), i.e. room
   temperature facile synthesis using abundant low cost raw materials;
2. The scintillation materials are eco-friendly materials, i.e. lead-free, heavy metal-free;
3. The X-ray scintillation characteristics are exceptional, i.e. higher light yields than most of the
   conventional commercially available scintillation materials;
4. It is straightforward to integrate scintillation materials with polymer matrices to make flexible X-ray material