Lithium-doped two-dimensional perovskite scintillator for wide-range radiation detection

Two-dimensional lead halide perovskites have demonstrated their potential as high-performance scintillators for X- and gamma-ray detection, while also being low-cost. Here we adopt lithium chemical doping in two-dimensional phenethylammonium lead bromide (PEA) 2 PbBr 4 perovskite crystals to improve the properties and add functionalities with other radiation detections. Li doping is confirmed by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy and the scintillation mechanisms are explored via temperature dependent X-ray and thermoluminescence measurements. Our 1:1 Li-doped (PEA) 2 PbBr 4 demonstrates a fast decay time of 11 ns (80%), a clear photopeak with an energy resolution of 12.4%, and a scintillation yield of 11,000 photons per MeV under 662 keV gamma-ray radiation. Additionally, our Li-doped crystal shows a clear alpha particle/gamma-ray discrimination and promising thermal neutron detection through 6 Li enrichment. X-ray imaging pictures with (PEA) 2 PbBr 4 are also presented. All results demonstrate the potential of Li-doped (PEA) 2 PbBr 4 as a versatile scintillator covering a wide radiation energy range for various applications. Two-dimensional lead halide perovskites have shown great potential as X- and γ-ray scintillators due to their high light yield, fast decay rate, and low fabrication cost. Here, their versatility is expanded by achieving, via Li-doping, α -particle/γ-ray discrimination and thermal neutron detection.