An image of the zero-dimensional OMHH amorphous film created by Biwu Ma’s research team. Credit: Biwu Ma
A team of researchers have developed a novel form for X-ray materials which could better meet the needs of large-area applications. The new thin-film detector is a scalable alternative to the complex crystal structures typically found in X-ray applications.
Published in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition, the work is reliant upon zero-dimensional organic metal halide hybrids (0D OMHHs), materials the research group are pioneers in. These 0D OMHHs combine organic components with inorganic metal halides, allowing engineers and scientists alike to harness the best properties of both. This unique combination allows for low-cost high-performance materials for direct X-ray detection.
"We took a material we developed and made it better," said Florida State University Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Biwu Ma. "This new form can be made reliably and quickly, giving end users a new way to incorporate X-ray detection in their work."
The millimeter-thin sheets of amorphous organic metal halide hybrids can be shaped in countless ways, allowing them to be readily fabricated into large custom shaped detectors, enabling their use across a broad and diverse array of fields from astronomy to medical imaging.
"If a doctor wants to take an X-ray image of someone's chest, it's important to have a detector large enough to cover the whole area for an accurate image," added Ma. "Growing single crystals of that size is extremely difficult. With our new approach and this new amorphous film material, we now have the potential to create much larger and more versatile X-ray detectors for a wide range of applications."
"The significance of this work lies in the enabling of possible industrial processing for large-area detection, which is crucial for the material's applicability," said Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry chair Wei Yang. "This work is a significant step in a highly innovative effort pioneered by Biwu that showcases the unique strength of our department in this promising area."
The team has filed a provisional patent application titled "Direct X-ray Detectors Based on Solution-Processed Amorphous Zero-Dimensional Organic Metal Halide Hybrid Films" with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.