Characteristics of Plastic Scintillators Fabricated by a Polymerization Reaction

• Main Authors: Cheol Ho Lee, Jaebum Son, Tae-Hoon Kim, Yong Kyun Kim
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2017-04-01
• Series: Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• Subjects: Compton Edge; Emission Wavelength; Light Output; Plastic Scintillator; Polymerization
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1738573316301899

Three plastic scintillators of 4.5 cm diameter and 2.5-cm length were fabricated for comparison with commercial plastic scintillators using polymerization of the styrene monomer 2.5-diphenyloxazole (PPO) and 1,4-bis benzene (POPOP). Their maximum emission wavelengths were determined at 426.06 nm, 426.06 nm, and 425.00 nm with a standard error of 0.2% using a Varian spectrophotometer (Agilent, Santa Clara, CA, USA). Compton edge spectra were measured using three gamma ray sources [i.e., cesium 137 (137Cs), sodium 22 (22Na), and cobalt 60 (60Co)]. Energy was calibrated by analyzing the Compton edge spectra. The fabricated scintillators possessed more than 99.7% energy linearity. Light output was comparable to that of the BC-408 scintillator (Saint-Gobain, Paris, France). The fabricated scintillators showed a light output of approximately 59–64% of that of the BC-408 scintillator.