PUBLICATION: NATURE COMMUNICATIONS

AUTHORS: Lu, HJ; Xie, J; Wang, XY; Wang, YX; Li, ZJ; Diefenbach, K; Pan, QJ; Qian, Y; Wang, JQ; Wang, S; Lin, J

 

Radiation dosimeters displaying conspicuous response of irradiance are highly desirable, owing to the growing demand of monitoring high-energy radiation and environmental exposure. Herein, we present a case of dosimetry based on a discrete nanocluster, [Th-6(OH)(4)(O)(4)(H2O)(6)](TPC)(8)(HCOO)(4).4DMF.H2O (Th-SINAP-100), by judiciously incorporating heavy Th-6 polynuclear centers as radiation attenuator and organic linkers as photo-responsive sensor. Interestingly, dual-module photochromic transitions upon multiple external stimuli including UV, beta -ray, and gamma -ray are integrated into this single material. The striking color change, and more significantly, the visible color transition of luminescence in response to accumulating radiation dose allow an on-site quantitative platform for naked-eye detection of ionization radiations over a broad range (1-80 kGy). Single crystal X-ray diffraction and density functional theory calculations reveal that the dual-module photochromism can be attributed to the (TPC)-> pi*(TPC) intermolecular charge transfer driven by enhanced pi-pi stacking interaction between the adjacent TPC moieties upon irradiation. Radiation dosimeters that measure ionizing radiations over a broad range and allow for direct readout are desirable. Here, the authors present a dual-mode photochromic thorium-based metal-organic nanocluster that enables direct visible colorimetric dosimetry of UV, beta -ray, and gamma -ray radiation.

 

LINKS: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23190-0