Plastic scintillation enhancement through UV emission nanoclusters

Scintillating dyes in polymer blends is a common tool used in radiation detection and its modifiability is a desirable attribute for different applications. Through nanocomposite loading, nanocrystals are generally employed to enhance scintillation either through radiative or non-radiative energy transfer. In this work similar methods are pursued with focus in the UV region through UV emitting nanocluster such as ZnO and CdS. A wide range of UV emission nanocrystals are selected and combined with different polymer and dyes demonstrating both quenching and enhancement. Preliminary results show not only dependency of the wavelength but also the polymer medium indicating different energy transfer paths. Compared to samples without nanocrystal the light yield was increased throughout different combinations.