Investigating the effects of LaMnO\(_{3}\) on the morphology, structural and optical properties of epoxy-based plastic scintillators

Yeni FEBRIANTI; Airine Hijrah HANDAYANI; Marzuki NAIBAHO; Phahul Zhemas Zul NEHAN; ZULKARNAIN; Arbi  DIMYATI; Budhy KURNIAWAN

doi:10.55713/jmmm.v36i3.2321

Authors

Yeni FEBRIANTI Department of Physics, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, West Java, 16424, Indonesia, and PT Cipta Mikro Material, Kab. Bogor, West Java, 16340, Indonesia
Airine Hijrah HANDAYANI Research Center for Nuclear Radiation Detection and Analysis Technology, National Research and Innovation Agency, South Tangerang, 15314, Indonesia
Marzuki NAIBAHO Department of Physics, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, West Java, 16424, Indonesia
Phahul Zhemas Zul NEHAN Department of Physics, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, West Java, 16424, Indonesia
ZULKARNAIN Department of Physics, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, West Java, 16424, Indonesia
Arbi DIMYATI Research Center for Nuclear Radiation Detection and Analysis Technology, National Research and Innovation Agency, South Tangerang, 15314, Indonesia
Budhy KURNIAWAN Department of Physics, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, West Java, 16424, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1576-9475

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55713/jmmm.v36i3.2321

Keywords:

LaMnO3, Plastic scintillator, Gamma radiation detection

Abstract

Plastic scintillators are widely used in radiation detection due to their low cost, fast response, and ease of fabrication, although their performace is often limited by low density, low atomic number, make them less efficient for applications requiring high-energy radiation. In this study, LaMnO₃ was synthesized using the hydrothermal method and employed as a dopant to enhance the optical and scintillation properties of epoxy-based plastic scintillators. Structural, morphological, and optical characterizations of LaMnO₃ were carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), UV-Vis and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The results confirm that the synthesized LaMnO₃exhibits a single-phase rhombohendral structure with irragular particle morphology, a direct band gap of 5.48 eV, and broad emission spanning 400 nm to 900 nm. XPS results revealed the coexistence of Mn³⁺ and Mn⁴⁺ oxidation states, induced by oxygen vacancies in the LaMnO₃ lattice. Plastic scintillators were fabricated using epoxy as the matrix, 2,5-Diphenyloxazole (PPO) as the primary scintillator, 1,4-bis(5-phenyloxazol-2-yl)benzene (POPOP) as the wavelength shifter and LaMnO₃ as the dopant. UV-Vis and PL measurements show that incorporating LaMnO₃, increases optical absorbance, enhances emission intensity, and broadens the emission range, demonstrating more efficient radiative recombination within the scintillator. Pulse-height spectra obtained using photomultiplier tube (PMT) and a ⁶⁰Co gamma source reveal a clear shift toward higer channels and increase in total counts for the LaMnO₃-doped scintillator, confirming improved light output and energy transfer efficiency. Detection efficiency calculations further show that the LaMnO₃-doped scintillator achieves 11.59% higher than the 9.86% of the undoped scintillator.

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