Chiral Terbium Halide for Narrow-Band X-ray Scintillation.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Solid-State Chemistry
• Luminescence

Background:

• Narrow-band radioluminescence is crucial for advanced display technologies but remains a significant challenge.
• Developing efficient X-ray scintillators with high performance is essential for imaging applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To construct and investigate the scintillation properties of novel chiral terbium(III)-based hybrid metal halides.
• To explore the potential of these materials as narrow-band X-ray scintillators and for circularly polarized luminescence applications.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of chiral terbium(III)-based hybrid metal halides (R/S-3BrMBA)3TbCl6 (R/S-BMTC).
• Systematic investigation of their X-ray scintillation and luminescence properties.
• Characterization of heavy atom effects, self-absorption, and Tb3+ 4f-4f transitions.

Main Results:

• R-BMTC exhibits excellent X-ray scintillation activity, comparable to commercial Bi4Ge3O12.
• Achieved one of the narrowest radioluminescences (approx. 9 nm) among hybrid metal halides.
• Demonstrated efficient green circularly polarized luminescence with high quantum yield (45.9%) and dissymmetry factor (4.99 × 10-3).

Conclusions:

• The novel chiral R-BMTC materials represent an efficient approach for developing narrow-band X-ray scintillators.
• These findings advance the application of chiral rare-earth halides in optoelectronics and imaging.
• The properties are beneficial for suppressing optical crosstalk and enhancing X-ray imaging quality.