{"title":"Mn-Ce co-activated garnet crystals as bright scintillators for fast gamma and high-performance X-ray imaging","authors":"Aochen Zhang, Mingqing Li, Chengyi Li, Peng Qiu, Zhongjun Xue, Shuwen Zhao, Zhe Zhang, Xiang Zheng, Jingjing Qu, Yuchong Ding, Dongzhou Ding","doi":"10.1016/j.cej.2025.163235","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Cerium-activated garnet-structured crystal Gd<sub>3</sub>(Al,Ga)<sub>5</sub>O<sub>12</sub>:Ce (GAGG:Ce) is regarded as one of the most effective scintillators for high-resolution radiation detection due to its high light yield, excellent energy resolution, and exceptional radiation hardness. Nevertheless, the long radiative lifetime of Ce<sup>3+</sup> and the slow component in scintillation decay time pose significant limitations on its further application. To overcome these problems, a novel strategy has been proposed to create a complementary de-excitation channel by introducing Mn<sup>2+</sup> as a co-activator. This newly created channel facilitates the transfer of energy from Ce<sup>3+</sup> to the acceptor during non-radiative processes, thereby enhancing the de-excitation efficiency of Ce<sup>3+</sup>. Notably, benefitting from the luminescence of dual luminescence centers along with the energy transfer between Ce<sup>3+</sup> and Mn<sup>2+</sup>, the higher X-ray excited luminescence intensity (128 % enhancement compared to undoped crystals) and faster scintillation decay are simultaneously realized for the first time in GAGG:Ce crystals. The higher X-ray excited luminescence intensity results in an excellent spatial resolution of 30.0 lp mm<sup>−1</sup>, which is significant for X-ray imaging applications. This enhancement greatly facilitates the commercialization of Ce-activated garnet-structured scintillators. The study highlights the potential of the cooperation of Mn<sup>2+</sup> and Ce<sup>3+</sup> in optimizing scintillation performances, thereby opening avenues for the development of ultrafast and efficient inorganic scintillators.","PeriodicalId":270,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Journal","volume":"16 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Chemical Engineering Journal","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2025.163235","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, CHEMICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Cerium-activated garnet-structured crystal Gd3(Al,Ga)5O12:Ce (GAGG:Ce) is regarded as one of the most effective scintillators for high-resolution radiation detection due to its high light yield, excellent energy resolution, and exceptional radiation hardness. Nevertheless, the long radiative lifetime of Ce3+ and the slow component in scintillation decay time pose significant limitations on its further application. To overcome these problems, a novel strategy has been proposed to create a complementary de-excitation channel by introducing Mn2+ as a co-activator. This newly created channel facilitates the transfer of energy from Ce3+ to the acceptor during non-radiative processes, thereby enhancing the de-excitation efficiency of Ce3+. Notably, benefitting from the luminescence of dual luminescence centers along with the energy transfer between Ce3+ and Mn2+, the higher X-ray excited luminescence intensity (128 % enhancement compared to undoped crystals) and faster scintillation decay are simultaneously realized for the first time in GAGG:Ce crystals. The higher X-ray excited luminescence intensity results in an excellent spatial resolution of 30.0 lp mm−1, which is significant for X-ray imaging applications. This enhancement greatly facilitates the commercialization of Ce-activated garnet-structured scintillators. The study highlights the potential of the cooperation of Mn2+ and Ce3+ in optimizing scintillation performances, thereby opening avenues for the development of ultrafast and efficient inorganic scintillators.
期刊介绍:
The Chemical Engineering Journal is an international research journal that invites contributions of original and novel fundamental research. It aims to provide an international platform for presenting original fundamental research, interpretative reviews, and discussions on new developments in chemical engineering. The journal welcomes papers that describe novel theory and its practical application, as well as those that demonstrate the transfer of techniques from other disciplines. It also welcomes reports on carefully conducted experimental work that is soundly interpreted. The main focus of the journal is on original and rigorous research results that have broad significance. The Catalysis section within the Chemical Engineering Journal focuses specifically on Experimental and Theoretical studies in the fields of heterogeneous catalysis, molecular catalysis, and biocatalysis. These studies have industrial impact on various sectors such as chemicals, energy, materials, foods, healthcare, and environmental protection.