Performance stability of plastics for neutron-gamma pulse shape discrimination

Zaitseva, Natalia; Carman, Leslie; Glenn, Andrew; Kim, Yongwook; Ford, Michael; Eccleston, Gracie; Hurlbut, Charles; Shipp, Kyle

doi:10.1016/j.nima.2024.169731

Performance stability of plastics for neutron-gamma pulse shape discrimination

Journal Article · Thu Aug 15 00:00:00 EDT 2024 · Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2024.169731· OSTI ID:2448036

^[1]; Carman, Leslie ^[1]; ^[1]; ^[1]; Ford, Michael ^[1]; Eccleston, Gracie ^[2]; Hurlbut, Charles ^[3]; ^[3]

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)
Eljen Technology, Sweetwater, TX (United States)

The introduction of the first commercially available plastic scintillators with pulse shape discrimination (PSD) offered by Eljen Technology marked progress towards potentially replacing liquid scintillators in neutron detection. However, use of these plastics over several recent years has revealed an important flaw in these materials: the eventual degradation of scintillation light output and PSD performance. Here, studies described in this paper considered possible reasons for this degradation. Experiments conducted with numerous lab-prepared and commercial EJ-276 samples showed that the main factor affecting the instability is oxidation that involves highly reactive radicals generated during the polymerization process or from the further breakdown of polymer chains under oxygen/air exposure. Based on the obtained results, the stability of scintillation performance for PPO (2,5-Diphenyloxazole)-based PSD plastics has been improved through modifications of the composition via the utilization of scintillation dyes and compounds with antioxidant properties that diminish the effects of oxidation. Elements of these studies were used in the commercial production of the most recent EJ-276D PSD plastic version for fast neutron detection and 6Li-loaded plastics for thermal neutron and antineutrino detection applications. Performance projections of the new PSD plastics indicate a likely degradation of less than 10 % over 5–10 years in comparison to previous EJ-276 that might lose up to 30–40 % of the scintillation light during 1–2 years of storage or deployment under ambient conditions.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE; USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-07NA27344

OSTI ID:: 2448036

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2437781

Report Number(s):: LLNL--JRNL-862051; 1093722

Journal Information:: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Journal Name: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment Vol. 1068; ISSN 0168-9002

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
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