Doped polysiloxane scintillators for thermal neutrons detection

Boron doped polysiloxane scintillators have been produced with different concentrations of boron and their scintillation yields have been studied as a function of the boron content under α, γ and fast and thermal neutrons irradiation. Their response has been compared with standard commercial plastic scintillators, namely EJ-212 as plastic scintillator and EJ-254 as boron doped scintillator. The produced samples exhibited a scintillation yield similar to EJ-212. The effect of boron on the energy transfer mechanism and on the polymer radiation hardness has been investigated by means of fluorescence and ion beam induced luminescence (IBIL) measurements. Detection efficiencies for thermal neutrons higher than commercial plastic scintillators have been attained with boron doped samples.