Scintillators for alpha and neutron radiations synthesized by room temperature sol-gel processing

Solid-state scintillating materials were synthesized by the co-doping of sol-gel components with neutron absorbers [⁶Li and ¹⁰B], organic fluorescence sensitizers such as salicylic acid and 2,5-diphenyloxazole (PPO) and activator 1,4-bis-2-(5-phenyloxazolyl)-benzene (POPOP). The room-temperature sol-gel process through the addition of organic polymers is the key to the successful entrapment of the organic sensitizers and activator in inorganic matrixes. These transparent or translucent sol-gel scintillators were evaluated for alpha radiation and neutron detections.