Metal–organic frameworks as potential materials for X-ray detectors: recent progress and unique opportunities

X-ray detectors and scintillators play a crucial role in society, with extensive applications in scientific research, security, manufacturing quality control, and medical imaging, including general radiography, computed tomography, and positron emission tomography. With aging populations globally, the demand for medical imaging is steadily growing, necessitating accessible and affordable X-ray technologies that can provide higher image quality with minimal radiation dosage. Existing commercial technologies possess several drawbacks, including slow response times, poor radioluminescence efficiencies, limited tunability range of X-ray energies, and reliance on costly and energy-intensive production processes. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have recently attracted attention as promising materials for a new generation of X-ray detectors and scintillators that can revolutionise low-dose and high-throughput medical and security imaging and enable unique applications. In this work, we discuss the underlying mechanisms and recent progress made in MOF-based X-ray detectors and scintillators, and examine their unique potential to outperform existing technologies.