Manufacturing and characterization of a boron-loaded fast-cured plastic organic scintillator

• Published in: Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment Vol. 1056; no. 1
• Main Authors: Doležal, Tyler D., Manfredi, Juan J., Frandsen, Brian G., Bevins, James E., Gautam, Connor, Stephens, Theodore W., Ruland, Thomas, Febbraro, Michael T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier 09-08-2023
• Subjects: Neutron detector; Organic scintillator; Photo-cured scintillator; Plastic scintillator; Pulse shape discrimination
• ISSN: 0168-9002

A novel fast-cured, boron-loaded, plastic organic scintillator was developed and characterized. A diisopropylnaphthalene-containing scintillator was manufactured in minutes with the addition of two commercially available fast-curing monomers, isobornyl acrylate (IBOA) and 1,6-Hexanediol dimethacrylate (HDDMA). Further, the light yield of the device was measured to be approximately 70% relative to a similarly sized, but several-year-aged, EJ-276 detector. Using a coincidence capture technique, the neutron capture light output was found to be 87.7 ± 4.2 keVee, which was 1.47 ± 0.07 greater than the light output from a 59.5 keV electron. Producing a viable fast-cured and thermal-neutron-sensitive detector enables the capability to pursue cost-effective 3D printed thermal neutron detectors in a timely manner.