Novel class of organic crystal scintillators based on aggregation-induced emission

Herein, we synthesized 1,1,2,3,4,5-hexaphenyl-1H-silole (HPS) crystals to develop organic crystal scintillators based on aggregation-induced emission (AIE). The scintillation properties of HPS crystals were characterized. An emission peak at approximately 490 nm was observed in photoluminescence emission and X-ray-excited radioluminescence spectra. The scintillation decay time constants were 5.4, and 21 ns. HPS crystals exhibited light yields of 3100 photons/5.5 MeV and 11 000 photons/MeV under alpha-ray and X-ray irradiation, respectively. The light yield and scintillation decay time of HPS crystals are comparable to those of conventional organic crystal scintillators, indicating the suitability of such organic crystals as scintillation materials based on AIE behavior.