High-Yield, 150 ps Polymer Scintillators via Synergistic Purcell and High-Z Enhancement
Abstract
Developing plastic scintillators that simultaneously achieve high light yield (LY), ultrafast timing, and scalable processability remains a formidable challenge in radiation detection. Here, we report a solution-processable hybrid scintillator that integrates high-Z sensitization with Purcell-enhanced radiative recombination within a conjugated-polymer platform. By embedding HfO2 nanoparticles and resonant Ag-SiO2 plasmonic nanoantennas into a poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) matrix, we exploit the intrinsic sub-nanosecond kinetics of conjugated polymers while overcoming their characteristic low stopping power. The HfO2 nanocrystals amplify energy deposition and suppress interchain aggregation, preserving high photoluminescence quantum yields in the solid state. Simultaneously, the nanoantennas induce strong plasmon-exciton coupling, accelerating radiative decay to ~150 ps. This synergistic architecture yields LY=6.1 photons/keV, comparable to standard commercial plastics with nanosecond lifetimes, yet over an order of magnitude higher than current sub-nanosecond state-of-the-art materials. This performance represents one of the most favourable combinations of efficiency and timing resolution reported to date. Our versatile strategy provides a framework for next-generation organic scintillators, merging record-breaking temporal response with high efficiency for advanced radiation-sensing architectures.
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BibTeX
@misc{zhou2026highyield,
title = {{High-Yield, 150 ps Polymer Scintillators via Synergistic Purcell and High-Z Enhancement}},
author = {Xiaohe Zhou and Hiba H. Karakkal and Chenger Wang and Andrea Fratelli and Francesco Bruni and Matteo L. Zaffalon and Leonardo Poletti and Saptarshi Chakraborty and Emanuele Mazzola and Roberto Lorenzi and Francesco Carulli and Francesca Rossi and Francesco Meinardi and Luca Gironi and Sergio Brovelli},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.31440},
eprint = {2609.31440},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.31440},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - High-Yield, 150 ps Polymer Scintillators via Synergistic Purcell and High-Z Enhancement
AU - Xiaohe Zhou
AU - Hiba H. Karakkal
AU - Chenger Wang
AU - Andrea Fratelli
AU - Francesco Bruni
AU - Matteo L. Zaffalon
AU - Leonardo Poletti
AU - Saptarshi Chakraborty
AU - Emanuele Mazzola
AU - Roberto Lorenzi
AU - Francesco Carulli
AU - Francesca Rossi
AU - Francesco Meinardi
AU - Luca Gironi
AU - Sergio Brovelli
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/25
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.31440
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.31440
AB - Developing plastic scintillators that simultaneously achieve high light yield (LY), ultrafast timing, and scalable processability remains a formidable challenge in radiation detection. Here, we report a solution-processable hybrid scintillator that integrates high-Z sensitization with Purcell-enhanced radiative recombination within a conjugated-polymer platform. By embedding HfO2 nanoparticles and resonant Ag-SiO2 plasmonic nanoantennas into a poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) matrix, we exploit the intrinsic sub-nanosecond kinetics of conjugated polymers while overcoming their characteristic low stopping power. The HfO2 nanocrystals amplify energy deposition and suppress interchain aggregation, preserving high photoluminescence quantum yields in the solid state. Simultaneously, the nanoantennas induce strong plasmon-exciton coupling, accelerating radiative decay to ~150 ps. This synergistic architecture yields LY=6.1 photons/keV, comparable to standard commercial plastics with nanosecond lifetimes, yet over an order of magnitude higher than current sub-nanosecond state-of-the-art materials. This performance represents one of the most favourable combinations of efficiency and timing resolution reported to date. Our versatile strategy provides a framework for next-generation organic scintillators, merging record-breaking temporal response with high efficiency for advanced radiation-sensing architectures.
ER -