Nearly 100% energy transfer at the interface of metal-organic frameworks for X-ray imaging scintillators
byJian-Xin Wang, Luis Gutiérrez-Arzaluz, Xiaojia Wang, Maram Almalki, Jun Yin, Justyna Czaban-Jóźwiak, Osama Shekhah, Yuhai Zhang, Osman M. Bakr, Mohamed Eddaoudi, Omar F. Mohammed
In this work, we describe a highly efficient and reabsorption-free Xray-harvesting system using luminescent metal-organic framework
(MOF)-fluorescence chromophore composite films. The ultrafast
time-resolved experiments and density functional theory calculations demonstrate that a nearly 100% energy transfer from a luminescent MOF with a high atomic number to an organic chromophore
with thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) character can
be achieved. Such an unprecedented efficiency of interfacial energy
transfer and the direct harnessing of singlet and triplet excitons of
the TADF chromophore led to remarkable enhancement of radioluminescence upon X-ray radiation. A low detection limit of 256 nGy/s
of the fabricated X-ray imaging scintillator was achieved, about 60
times lower than the MOF and 7 times lower than the organic chromophore counterparts. More importantly, this detection limit is
about 22 times lower than the standard dosage for a medical examination, making it an excellent candidate for X-ray radiography.