Transparent lithium loaded plastic scintillators for thermal neutron detection

The fabrication of a series of novel, optically transparent, bulk plastic scintillators loaded with lithium methacrylate, and incorporating 2,5-diphenyloxazole and 5-phenyl-2-[4-(5-phenyl-1,3-oxazol-2-yl)phenyl]-1,3-oxazole fluorescent centres, is described. The attenuation length, photoluminescence, and both gamma ray and thermal neutron scintillation responses were compared over a range of lithium methacrylate concentrations. The maximum concentration corresponded to a weight percentage of lithium-6 of 0.63%. The photoluminescence shows a composite 2,5-diphenyloxazole and 5-phenyl-2-[4-(5-phenyl-1,3-oxazol-2-yl)phenyl]-1,3-oxazole broad band with vibronic features in the range 350-500 nm, and lifetimes in the range 0.9-2.7 ns. An increasing luminescence in a thermal neutron beam with increasing lithium-6 content is demonstrated.