Switching Fluorescent–Phosphorescent Radioluminescence in Organic X‐Ray Scintillators via a Host–Guest Strategy

Y Yuxin Xiao (Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics, Xi’an Institute of Flexible Electronics & Xi’an Institute of Biomedical Materials and Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, 127 West Youyi Road, Xi’an 710072, China) S Shiwen Liu X Xinqi Xu (MOE Key Laboratory for Analytical Science of Food Safety and Biology State Key Laboratory of Photocatalysis on Energy and Environment Fuzhou University Fuzhou China) C Chenxi Peng X Xiaowang Liu Q Qiushui Chen T Tao Yu W Wei Huang

Abstract

ABSTRACT Organic scintillators have attracted increasing attention for applications in medical diagnostics, nondestructive inspection and high‐energy physics. Regulating the radioluminescence (RL) lifetime and emission wavelength is crucial for developing organic scintillators that meet diverse application requirements, yet remains challenging. Achieving switchable fluorescent‐phosphorescent RL through a simple and effective approach is therefore highly desirable for x‐ray imaging applications. Here, we report an efficient host–guest strategy to realize switching between fluorescence and phosphorescence in RL from a single guest emitter. Accordingly, the fluorescence and phosphorescence exhibit decay lifetimes of 4.28 ns (emission at 450 nm) and 1140.41 ms (emission at 529 nm), respectively. Moreover, the phosphorescent scintillator demonstrated pronounced scintillation performance at elevated temperatures. Notably, 2‐TBASF@DMAP exhibits a long afterglow exceeding 0.8 s over a wide temperature range from 78 to 375 K, highlighting its strong potential for high‐temperature x‐ray detection and advanced imaging technologies. This work opens new possibilities for organic scintillators in multimodal detection, as the switchable emission modes enable enhanced signal discrimination and environmental responsiveness.

Article Details

Volume / Issue Vol. 1, Issue 1
Published July 30, 2026
ISSN 1433-7851
Publisher Wiley

Journal Info

Angewandte Chemie International Edition

Wiley

ISSN: 1433-7851 Physical Sciences

Authors (8)

Y

Yuxin Xiao

Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics, Xi’an Institute of Flexible Electronics & Xi’an Institute of Biomedical Materials and Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, 127 West Youyi Road, Xi’an 710072, China

S

Shiwen Liu

X

Xinqi Xu

MOE Key Laboratory for Analytical Science of Food Safety and Biology State Key Laboratory of Photocatalysis on Energy and Environment Fuzhou University Fuzhou China

C

Chenxi Peng

X

Xiaowang Liu

Q

Qiushui Chen

T

Tao Yu

W

Wei Huang