High-Entropy Lanthanide Metal-Organic Frameworks as Multifunctional Porous Scintillators for Radiation Detection and...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Radiochemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• High-entropy materials (HEMs) show promise but are underexplored as scintillators.
• Lanthanide-based metal-organic frameworks (Ln-MOFs) offer tunable luminescence and porosity.
• Integrating HEM principles into Ln-MOFs could unlock new functionalities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and synthesize the first high-entropy lanthanide-based metal-organic frameworks (HE-Ln-MOFs).
• To evaluate their potential as multifunctional porous scintillators.
• To investigate their performance in radionuclide detection and adsorption.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of HE-Ln-MOFs incorporating five lanthanides (La, Ce, Eu, Dy, Er).
• Characterization using X-ray adsorption spectroscopy (XAS) and theoretical calculations.
• Evaluation of scintillation properties (light yield, detection limit) and uranyl adsorption capacity.

Main Results:

• Achieved a light yield of ~17000 photons/MeV and a detection limit of 302 nGyair s⁻¹.
• Discovered a unique multistep energy transfer pathway mediated by Ce³⁺/Ce⁴⁺ redox pair.
• Demonstrated record uranyl adsorption capacity (1532 mg g⁻¹) and exceptional structural integrity.

Conclusions:

• HE-Ln-MOFs exhibit optimized scintillation parameters and stimulus-responsive luminescence.
• The materials show potential for dual-mode, on-site radionuclide detection.
• This work establishes HE-Ln-MOFs as a promising platform for advanced radiation detection.