Flexible Transparent Scintillation Films Based on Chiral Molecular Scintillators Showing Strong Circularly Polarized Luminescence and High-Resolution X-ray Imaging

Abstract Flexible scintillation films based on chiral molecular scintillators have considerable potential for application in advanced technologies, such as three-dimensional displays, optical information storage, and high-resolution diagnostic imaging. Herein, a pair of chiral Cd–Tb complex enantiomers [(R, R)/(S, S)-(L)2TbCd2(H2O)4] (ClO4)3 (R/S –Cd-Tb) was synthesized, and they exhibit a high PLQY of 38.40% and strong circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) with asymmetry factors of 4.69 × 10–2. R/S –Cd-Tb has strong X-ray scintillation performance with a light yield of 2136 and 2111 ph·MeV–1 based on LuAG:Ce and the X-ray detection limit of 50.6 and 52.1 nGy·s–1, respectively. Chiral flexible transparent scintillation films of R/S –Cd-Tb@PMMA were prepared using R/S –Cd-Tb, and the asymmetry factor of the R/S –Cd-Tb@PMMA film is 2.4 × 10–2. The R/S –Cd-Tb@PMMA film exhibits strong circularly polarized radioluminescence (CPRL) and circularly polarized light-emitting diode emission (CP-LEDs). Moreover, it can deliver prominent CPRL signals and achieve high-resolution X-ray imaging with a spatial resolution of 23.96 lp/mm. The results indicate that chiral lanthanide complexes represent a promising class of chiral molecular scintillator materials.