Fabrication of a superheated emulsion based on Freon-12 and LiCl suitable for thermal neutrons detection

This study develops superheated emulsion detectors that are both sensitive to fast neutrons, and thermal neutrons owing to the exergonic Li36(n,α)H13 capture reaction caused by the 6Li-containing compound dispersed throughout the gel-like medium. The experimental research was conducted on two SEDs. One detector was an ordinary Freon-12 detector and the other was a Freon-12 detector containing 3.4 % (by weight) LiCl. In order to investigate the sensitivity of lithium-containing SEDs to thermal neutrons, two types of SEDs were simultaneously exposed to various flux levels of thermal neutrons from 241Am–Be neutron source inside a cylindrical tank filled with water. A Boron-lined proportional counter was used to estimate the thermal neutron flux and the relevant MCNP code was developed for flux and dose calculations in the prepared set-up around 241Am–Be source. The results demonstrate that there is a proportional relationship between the variations of SED response and the change in thermal neutron flux and dose. Also, the sensitivity of SED was estimated.