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To resolve the historical trade-off between light yield and response speed in radiation detection, the authors engineered a solution-processable conjugated polymer scintillator co-doped with high-Z HfO2 nanocrystals and resonant Ag-SiO2 plasmonic nanoantennas. The HfO2 particles boost radiation stopping power and prevent quenching aggregations, while strong plasmon-exciton coupling drives Purcell-accelerated radiative decay down to ~150 ps. This hybrid architecture achieves an exceptional light yield of 6.1 photons/keV, matching standard nanosecond-scale commercial plastics while outperforming current sub-nanosecond materials by over an order of magnitude.
Plastic scintillators no longer have to sacrifice photon yield for speed: coupling high-Z sensitizers with plasmonic nanoantennas delivers 6.1 photons/keV at record-breaking 150 ps decay lifetimes.
Developing plastic scintillators that simultaneously achieve high light yield (LY), ultrafast timing, and scalable processability remains a formidable challenge in radiation detection. Here, we report a solution-processable hybrid scintillator that integrates high-Z sensitization with Purcell-enhanced radiative recombination within a conjugated-polymer platform. By embedding HfO2 nanoparticles and resonant Ag-SiO2 plasmonic nanoantennas into a poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) matrix, we exploit the intrinsic sub-nanosecond kinetics of conjugated polymers while overcoming their characteristic low stopping power. The HfO2 nanocrystals amplify energy deposition and suppress interchain aggregation, preserving high photoluminescence quantum yields in the solid state. Simultaneously, the nanoantennas induce strong plasmon-exciton coupling, accelerating radiative decay to ~150 ps. This synergistic architecture yields LY=6.1 photons/keV, comparable to standard commercial plastics with nanosecond lifetimes, yet over an order of magnitude higher than current sub-nanosecond state-of-the-art materials. This performance represents one of the most favourable combinations of efficiency and timing resolution reported to date. Our versatile strategy provides a framework for next-generation organic scintillators, merging record-breaking temporal response with high efficiency for advanced radiation-sensing architectures.