Organic scintillators for next-generation radiation detection: Principles of molecular design, mechanisms, and emerging applications

Abstract

Organic scintillators have recently emerged as promising candidates for next-generation radiation detection because of their unique advantages, including environmental benignity, low cost, high optical transparency, and compatibility with flexible device fabrication. Unlike conventional inorganic scintillators, organic scintillators benefit from immense molecular diversity, which enables tunable optical and electronic properties tailored to specific performance demands. Despite rapid progress, the fundamental molecular design principles and luminescence mechanisms underlying their operation remain insufficiently understood. In this review, we systematically summarize recent advances in the molecular design of organic scintillators for emerging imaging applications. We provide a comprehensive analysis of the luminescence centers and their roles in exciton generation, migration, and utilization as well as detailed discussions on how molecular structure design strategies influence key performance parameters such as light yield, response time, imaging resolution, and operational stability. Finally, we present an outlook on future molecular design strategies aimed at achieving high-performance organic scintillators with a focus on bridging fundamental photophysical understanding and practical device optimization. This review establishes a framework for correlating molecular structure with scintillation properties, thereby paving the way toward efficient, stable, and processable organic scintillators for next-generation radiation detection and broader radiation detection technologies.