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Growth and properties of Lithium Salicylate single crystals

Journal Article · · Crystal Growth & Design, vol. 9, no. 8, August 1, 2009, pp. 3799-3802
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/cg9005289· OSTI ID:965955
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An attractive feature of {sup 6}Li containing fluorescence materials that determines their potential application in radiation detection is the capture reaction with slow ({approx}< 100 keV) neutrons: {sup 6}Li + n = {sup 4}He + {sup 3}H + 4.8MeV. The use of {sup 6}Li-salicylate (LiSal, LiC{sub 6}H{sub 5}O{sub 3}) for thermal neutron detection was previously studied in liquid and polycrystalline scintillators. The studies showed that both liquid and polycrystalline LiSal scintillators could be utilized in pulse shape discrimination (PSD) techniques that enable separation of neutrons from the background gamma radiation. However, it was found that the efficiency of neutron detection using LiSal in liquid solutions was severely limited by its low solubility in commonly used organic solvents like, for example, toluene or xylene. Better results were obtained with neutron detectors containing the compound in its crystalline form, such as pressed pellets, or microscopic-scale (7-14 micron) crystals dispersed in various media. The expectation drown from these studies was that further improvement of pulse height, PSD, and efficiency characteristics could be reached with larger and more transparent LiSal crystals, growth of which has not been reported so far. In this paper, we present the first results on growth and characterization of relatively large, a cm-scale size, single crystals of LiSal with good optical quality. The crystals were grown both from aqueous and anhydrous (methanol) media, mainly for neutron detection studies. However, the results on growth and structural characterization may be interesting for other fields where LiSal, together with other alkali metal salicylates, is used for biological, medical, and chemical (as catalyst) applications.
Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-48
OSTI ID:
965955
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL-410824
Journal Information:
Crystal Growth & Design, vol. 9, no. 8, August 1, 2009, pp. 3799-3802, Journal Name: Crystal Growth & Design, vol. 9, no. 8, August 1, 2009, pp. 3799-3802 Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 9
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ALKALI METALS
DETECTION
EFFICIENCY
FLUORESCENCE
GAMMA RADIATION
LITHIUM
METHANOL
MONOCRYSTALS
NEUTRON DETECTION
NEUTRON DETECTORS
NEUTRONS
ORGANIC SOLVENTS
PELLETS
PHOSPHORS
RADIATION DETECTION
SOLUBILITY
THERMAL NEUTRONS
TOLUENE