In Situ Crystallization of Copper(I)-Based Hybrid Halides Assisted by Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium for a Large-Area Scintillation Imaging Screen

Exploring new types of scintillators, especially fabricating large-area scintillating screens, is essential in applications of life science, industry, and material science. However, the thickness and light scattering in composite scintillator film present a major challenge for balancing the spatial resolution and radioluminescence intensity. Herein, an in situ crystallization route is developed to innovate the preparation of the large-area scintillating screens based on the hybrid copper(I)-based C 6 H 8 N 2 OCuX (X = I and Br), in which carboxymethylcellulose sodium (CMC-Na) contribute to the “CMC-Na membrane” film formation and further increase absorption cross-section for X-ray radiation owing to the existence of Na elements. The choice of halogen can regulate the photoluminescence of C 6 H 8 N 2 OCuX (X = I, Br, and Cl) from cyan to green and then to yellow, and significant scintillation property can be achieved for C 6 H 8 N 2 OCuI with the light yield of 52 000 photons MeV −1 and detection limit of 43.14 nGy s −1 . Finally, the high X-ray absorption assisted by CMC-Na, as well as the thin thickness of the composite scintillator films help to realize remarkable spatial resolution above 14 lp mm −1 . This study provides a foundation for discovering high-performance copper(I)-based halides scintillators and offers a creative think film preparation method for X-ray imaging.