Abstract
Stable and efficient X-ray scintillators are crucial for medical diagnostics, industrial, and defense applications. However, conventional scintillator technologies face a trade-off between stability, optimal performance, and sustainability. Herein, we introduce 3D-printed Cs4MnBi2Cl12 (Pero1) and Cs4Cd0.68Mn0.32Bi2Cl12 (Pero2) perovskite microcrystals embedded within a polylactic acid (PLA) polymer composite as X-ray scintillators, combining efficiency, stability, and sustainability. The orange luminescent perovskite powder phosphors exhibited poor water stability, which was successfully addressed through incorporation into PLA via filament extrusion and fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing. The resulting composite films demonstrated remarkable water stability while maintaining uniform orange emission throughout the polymer matrix, as confirmed by 3D topography scanning and X-ray fluorescence mapping. Structural characterization revealed minimal chemical interaction between the perovskite and PLA matrix, with the composites retaining their crystalline properties. The PLA-Pero2 composite exhibited superior optical properties, with a photoluminescence quantum yield of 47%, nearly 17 times higher than that of PLA-Pero1 (2.8%), attributed to the effective suppression of non-radiative decay pathways through Cd2+ doping. Under hard X-ray irradiation at synchrotron beamlines, both composites exhibited excellent radioluminescence, with emission peaks at 605 nm, a linear response across a wide X-ray flux range, and remarkable radiation stability, showing less than 3% intensity degradation after 600 seconds of continuous high-dose exposure. The PLA-Pero2 composite achieved a spatial resolution of 5 line pairs per millimeter and a contrast ratio of 0.255. These performance metrics, combined with the polymer's biodegradability and scalability through additive manufacturing, position PLA-based composites as a more sustainable alternative to conventional petroleum-based polymer scintillators for next-generation medical imaging, radiation monitoring, and industrial radiography applications.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Materials Chemistry Frontiers |
| DOIs | |
| State | Accepted/In press - 2026 |
Funding
A. E., A. A., A. D. and T. D. acknowledge the NNSA MSIPP I-AM EMPOWER'D (Grant No. DE-NA0004004) at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. A. E., A. A., A. D. and T. D. acknowledge access to the CT scan facility at the Characterization Lab & In situ Facilities (CLIFF) at CePaST, Florida A&M University, which was financially supported by the National Science Foundation (MRI-1726035), the Department of Defense (W911NF2210148), and FAMU Vice President of Research. MicroXRF work performed at the Center for Rare Earths, Critical Minerals, and Industrial Byproducts at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, supported by the State of Florida through Contract # 0000071627. The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants DMR-1644779 and DMR-2128556, as well as by the State of Florida. A. M. S. acknowledges funding from the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DMR-2219906. X-Ray scintillation work performed at the Advanced Photon Source, U.S. Department of Energy Office (DOE) of Science User Facility, was supported by the U.S. DOE, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357. R. V. W. acknowledges the NSF MRI program (Grant No. CHE-1531629) for acquiring Edinburgh Instruments LP980-KS transient absorption system.