Designer solvents for neutron detection

DARIO PABLO RODRIGUES FERREIRA MALTEZ; GABRIELA SARMIENTO; NICOLAS KRIMER; MARTÍN MIRENDA

Buenos Aires

Congreso; I Congreso Argentino de Técnicas Neutrónicas; 2017

Ionic liquids (ILs) are organic salts with melting points near room temperature, taking 100ºC as an arbitrary upper limit [1]. The organic nature of the constituent ions gives them distinctive physicochemical properties compared with traditional organic solvents (volatile and flammable) and fused inorganic salts (high melting points). Their moderate thermal stability and low flammability are some of the remarkable features that justify its nascent application in nuclear technology [2]. In addition, the versatility of these designer solvents allows tuning their properties in order to satisfy specific requirements. For example, ILs containing boron in its structure have been already synthetized attending the particular interest owing to the thermal neutrons scavenging ability of 10B [3]. In a previous work [4], we have already shown the capability of these solvents for 18F activity determination by Cherenkov-photons coincidence counting. Here, we propose the use of this novel kind of solvents in neutron detection. The basic strategy is to use a fluorophore able to convert the energy released in the solvent by the neutron-capture-reaction products into photons. Then, these photons can be detected by photomultipliers in coincidence by means of liquid scintillation counting technique.[1] Weingärtner H. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2008, 47, 654.[2] Sun X., Luo H., Dai S. Chem. Rev. 2012, 112, 2100.[3] Lall-Ramnarine S., Castano A., Subramaniam G., Thomas M., Wishart J. S. Radiat. Phys. Chem. 2009, 78, 1120. [4] Mirenda M., Rodrigues D., Arenillas P., Gutkowski K. Rad. Phys. Chem. 2014, 98, 98.