Formulation and Characterization of Fast-Curing Plastic Scintillators with High-Z Loading

Development of novel fast-curing plastic scintillators is highly advantageous due to their potential to be manufactured via 3D printing. Several formulations were developed that exhibit enhanced photon sensitivity, producing modest but discernible photopeaks at an incident gamma energy of 122 keV. The photon sensitivity is achieved via bismuth high-Z loading; however, this practice typically results in diminished light yields. Subsequent formulations, which varied the photoinitiator concentration and curing time, demonstrated successful curing with sufficient plastic hardness, reduced purple discoloration, reduced heat buildup during curing, and resulted in less cracking during the curing process, all of which were correlated with lower concentrations of the photoinitiator. These scintillators, however, did exhibit appreciable leaching of the primary fluorophore. As compared to EJ-256 with 137Cs and 57Co sources, relative light yield was generally slightly poorer, ranging from 42% to 93%, and relative efficiency was generally comparable, ranging from 47% to 167%