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1D all-inorganic metal halide Rb₂AgX₃ (X = Cl, Br): Pb-free scintillator materials for ionising radiation detection

Lookup NU author(s): Alexandra Longcake, Professor Mike ProbertORCiD

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Abstract

This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2026Rb-based metal halide materials possess large attenuation coefficients and bright luminescence making them suitable as scintillators for X-ray detection. Here, we present the first report of an optimised anti-solvent synthesis method enabling gram-scale preparation of phase-pure Rb2AgX3, (X = Cl, Br) metal halides, which show broadband emission centred at 585 nm and 514 nm, respectively. We have identified solvent selection criteria that are broadly applicable to the synthesis of a wider variety of perovskite materials. This approach offers several advantages: reduced reaction temperatures, shorter reaction times, enhanced purity, and increased yields. Collectively, these improvements contribute to a more sustainable and scalable synthesis route. Rb2AgX3, (X = Cl, Br) metal halides report fast radiative recombination with typical decay times of sub-10 ns. Optical and radioluminescence measurements revealed halide-specific emission pathways with Rb2AgCl3 displaying superior emission intensities, whereas Rb2AgBr3 consistently elicited a stronger X-ray induced response. High pressure XRD studies measured bulk crystal moduli indicating that the Rb2AgCl3 crystal structure has a stiffer lattice than the Rb2AgBr3 analogue. Compressing pellets of polycrystalline Rb2AgX3 over a range of pressures (both at room temperature and 70 °C) confirmed this lattice stiffness trend and allowed for improvements in material densification and optical clarity at thicknesses of >250 µm. The X-ray response of these pellets improved with increasing pressure for the bromide analogue underscoring the importance of microstructural control in enhancing scintillation efficiencies.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Mulholland R, Loan T, O'Neill J, Ghosh J, Alghamdi S, Hinder S, Longcake A, Probert MR, Salway H, Anaya M, Sellin P, Crean C

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Journal of Materials Chemistry C

Year: 2026

Volume: 14

Issue: 22

Pages: 9487–9499

Online publication date: 16/04/2026

Acceptance date: 17/03/2026

Date deposited: 06/05/2026

ISSN (print): 2050-7526

ISSN (electronic): 2050-7534

Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry

URL: https://doi.org/10.1039/D5TC03935E

DOI: 10.1039/d5tc03935e

Data Access Statement: The data supporting this article have been included as part of the supplementary information (SI). Supplementary informa tion is available. See DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d5tc03935e. CCDC 2498636–2498649 contain the supplementary crystal lographic data for this paper.

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