N -(2-Ethylhexyl)carbazole: A New Fluorophore Highly Suitable as a Monomolecular Liquid Scintillator

Eva Montbarbon (1, 2) , Fabien Sguerra (2) , Guillaume H. V. Bertrand (2) , Élodie Magnier (2) , Romain Coulon (2) , Robert B. Pansu (1, 2) , Matthieu Hamel (2)

1 PPSM - Laboratoire de Photophysique et Photochimie Supramoléculaires et Macromoléculaires
2 LCAE (CEA, LIST) - Laboratoire Capteurs et Architectures Electroniques (CEA, LIST)

The synthesis, photophysical properties, and applications in scintillation counting of N-(2-ethylhexyl)carbazole (EHCz) are reported. This molecule displays all of the required characteristics for an efficient liquid scintillator (emission wavelength, scintillation yield), and can be used without any extra fluorophores. Thus, its scintillation properties are discussed, as well as its fast neutron/gamma discrimination. For the latter application, the material is compared with the traditional liquid scintillator BC-501 A, and other liquid fluorescent molecules classically used as scintillation solvents, such as xylene, pseudocumene (PC), linear alkylbenzenes (LAB), diisopropylnaphthalene (DIN), 1-methylnaphthalene (1-MeNapht), and 4-isopropylbiphenyl (iPrBiph). For the first time, an excimeric form of a molecule has been advantageously used in scintillation counting. A moderate discrimination between fast neutrons and gamma rays was observed in bulk EHCz, with an apparent neutron/gamma discrimination potential half of that of BC-501 A.

Mots clés: scintillation; radiochemistry; fluorescence; carbazoles; excimer; GAMMA-RAYS; DISCRIMINATION; SOLVENT

Domaines: Chimie organique; Radiochimie

Eva Montbarbon, Fabien Sguerra, Guillaume H. V. Bertrand, Élodie Magnier, Romain Coulon, et al.. N -(2-Ethylhexyl)carbazole: A New Fluorophore Highly Suitable as a Monomolecular Liquid Scintillator. Chemistry - A European Journal, 2016, 22 (34), pp.12074-12080. ⟨10.1002/chem.201601749⟩. ⟨hal-01390268⟩