Courtesy of Fayetteville State University
The Materials Science Research Team at Fayetteville State University (FSU) recently identified a promising material that emits light, or glows, when exposed to radiation. Their findings were published in a collaborative paper in the prestigious scientific journal Advanced Optical Materials, an international, interdisciplinary forum for peer-reviewed papers on materials science focused on all aspects of light-matter interactions.
The project, funded by the Excellence in Research (EiR) Program of the National Science Foundation, aimed to identify materials with luminescent (glowing) characteristics that are sensitive to radiation to better detect its presence in various environments. The authors include an FSU undergraduate, postdoctoral staff and faculty, and scientists from Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).
The article, titled “Luminescence from Self-Trapped Excitons and Energy Transfers in Vacancy-Ordered Hexagonal Halide Perovskite Cs2HfF6 Doped with Rare Earths for Radiation Detection” details the team’s findings that identify a highly sensitive and consistently reactive material that will luminesce, or glow, in the presence of radiation.
Consistent and reproduceable radiation detection materials are highly desirable in security, defense, medical and industrial applications because they significantly improve safety and reduce the harmful radiation exposure risk of healthcare workers, military personnel, and private/industrial employees of hazardous industries.
“This is an incredible research collaboration,” said Zhiping Luo, Ph.D., the project’s principal investigator and professor of materials science at FSU. “We are fortunate to work with colleagues across the country whose research and resources can inform ours and vice versa. We look forward to pursuing this project further and supporting our undergraduate and graduate students as they hone their research skills.”
FSU undergraduate and article coauthor Starfari T. McClain, a chemistry major with a concentration in materials science, conducted research at FSU’s Interdisciplinary Materials Research and Education Laboratory (IMREL). The IMREL supports undergraduate research training in materials science with scholarships and mentorship by IMREL faculty and staff.
Advanced Optical Materials is among the publications included in the Carolina Consortium partnership with the Wiley Online Library open access peer-reviewed journals.
“FSU is proud to be a member institution of the Carolina Consortium with a Wiley Open Access Account,” said Larry Treadwell IV, director of FSU library services. “Through the consortium, FSU faculty and staff can publish papers in Wiley journals for free open access. This is the first time we have taken advantage of the opportunity to publish our research, and we look forward to making the most this collaboration.”
