Ligand‐Engineered All‐In‐One Cu(I) Iodide Complex Enables Near‐Unity Photoluminescence and Advanced 3D X‐ray Image Reconstruction
High-performance X-ray detectors are essential for 3D X-ray imaging in computed tomography (CT), but conventional systems require high radiation doses to achieve fine resolution. All-In-One (AIO) Cu(I) halide complexes, capable of forming both ionic and coordinate bonds within a single structure, offer efficient scintillation at lower doses, yet their performance remains limited by nonradiative energy losses during indirect X-ray-to-light conversion. Here, we develop rigid-cation-assisted AIO Cu(I) halide complexes by introducing π-π interactions to suppress the nonradiative pathways, achieving near-unity photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY). In particular, the rigid (benzyl-DABCO)<sub>2</sub>Cu<sub>5</sub>I<sub>7</sub> (Bz-Cu<sub>5</sub>I<sub>7</sub>) complex stabilizes triplet emissive states, thereby facilitating high-efficiency radiative recombination and excellent radioluminescence (RL) properties. When incorporated into flexible scintillator film, Bz-Cu<sub>5</sub>I<sub>7</sub> demonstrates remarkable X-ray imaging performance, enabling a high spatial resolution exceeding 20 lp mm<sup>-1</sup> and a low radiation dose of 71.2 nGy<sub>air</sub> s<sup>-1</sup>. Importantly, 3D X-ray image reconstruction of small electronic components reveals fine structural details, highlighting the potential of Bz-Cu<sub>5</sub>I<sub>7</sub> as a next-generation X-ray scintillator for low-dose CT imaging.
Authors
- Xiangmei Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6469-2363)
- Sasa Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1859-8605)
- Kun Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2454-0653)
- Kaibo Zheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7236-1070)
- Mingli Liang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1854-7026)
- Shujuan Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8701-8374)
- Qiang Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3788-4757)
- Le Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8630-1098)
- Dong Yan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4517-3530)
- Kun Gang
Institutions
- Lund University (SE)
- Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology (CN)
- Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications (CN)
- Zero to Three (US)
- Anhui Normal University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition
- Published
- 2025-08-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202512471
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Lanthanide and Transition Metal Complexes
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.07
Funders
- Villum Fonden
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Vetenskapsrådet
- National Key Research and Development Program of China