Preparation of Nanocomposite Scintillator of ZnS Doped with Ag, Cu and AgCu for Alpha Particle Detection

ZnS nanoparticles (NPs) doped with Ag, Cu, and AgCu were synthesized using hydrothermal method in water solution. The NPS are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy scanning (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The produced NPs have approximately hexagonal structure and a cubic zinc blended structure. The size distribution of NPs has a medium around 10 inn. Optical properties of these NPs were investigated using photo luminescence (PL) spectra, that show the samples exhibit reasonable optical properties for scintillation applications. The produced NPs were mixed with methyl methacrylate and dimethylformamide to prepare a very thin layer of a nanocomposite that is uniformly coated on a substrate of Plexiglas. Response of the layers under alpha particles irradiation using a photomultiplier tube and a multichannel analyzer indicates that the doped ZnS NPs have reasonable scintillation response that capable them to be used in developing a low-cost and free-size structure of alpha particles detectors.