Plastic scintillators stable for operating in wide ranges of humidity and temperature variations

Journal Article · Fri Feb 21 00:00:00 EST 2020 · Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2018.12.024· OSTI ID:1669242

Zaitseva, N. P. ^[1]; Mabe, A. N. ^[1]; Carman, M. L. ^[1]; Glenn, A. M. ^[1]; Inman, J. W. ^[2]; Payne, S. A. ^[1]

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1. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
2. Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)

To provide efficient and reproducible response to nuclear radiation, scintillating plastics should be prepared as materials of high optical transparency and homogeneity that should remain intact during the lifetime of their operation. A problem with traditionally used polyvinyltoluene (PVT) or polystyrene (PS) plastic scintillators arises from their exposure to repeated large temperature swings that cause surface and volume defects, resulting in decreased sensitivity of the detection properties. We find that the problem can be avoided by composition modifications that enable preparation of plastics with properties that are resistant to the continuous variations in environmental conditions. This paper describes improvements in physical properties that can be achieved by the addition of crosslinkers (such as divinylbenzene, DVB) and oxygen-containing compounds or copolymers (e.g. polymethylamethacrylate, PMMA) to the traditional PVT or PS polymer matrices. Results of characterization show that the new materials can be prepared with the scintillation performance equal to that of commercial plastic scintillators, such as EJ-200.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); US Dept. of Homeland Security
• Grant/Contract Number: AC52-07NA27344; HSHQDCN-17-X-00035; HSHQDCN-17-X-00051
• OSTI ID: 1669242
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1636343
• Report Number(s): LLNL-JRNL-755218; 942052
• Journal Information: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 954; ISSN 0168-9002
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
Plastic scintillator
PVT
plastic degradation
plastic degradation defects
non-fogging plastics