Controlled Synthesis of Terbium-Doped Colloidal Gd<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>S Nanoplatelets Enables High-Performance X-ray Scintillators.

Yorov, Khursand E; Nematulloev, Saidkhodzha; Saidzhonov, Bedil M; Skorotetcky, Maxim S; Karluk, Azimet A; Hasanov, Bashir E; Mir, Wasim J; Sheikh, Tariq et al. · ACS Nano · 2024

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Terbium-doped gadolinium oxysulfide (Gd<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>S:Tb<sup>3+</sup>), commonly referred to as Gadox, is a widely used scintillator material due to its exceptional X-ray attenuation efficiency and high light yield. However, Gadox-based scintillators suffer from low X-ray spatial resolution due to their large particle size, which causes significant light scattering. To address this limitation, we report the synthesis of terbium-doped colloidal Gadox nanoplatelets (NPLs) with near-unity photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) and high radioluminescence light yield (LY). In particular, our investigation reveals a strong correlation between PLQY, LY, particle size, and Tb<sup>3+</sup>concentration. Our synthetic approach allows precise control over the lateral size and thickness of the Gadox NPLs, resulting in a LY of 50,000 photons/MeV. Flexible scintillating screens fabricated with the solution-processable Gadox NPLs exhibited a 20 lp/mm X-ray spatial resolution, surpassing commercial Gadox scintillators. These high-performance and flexible Gadox NPL-based scintillators enable enhanced X-ray imaging capabilities in medicine and security. Our work provides a framework for designing nanomaterial scintillators with superior spatial resolution and efficiency through precise control of dimensions and dopant concentration.