Detection of Radioactive Gas with Scintillating MOFs

Homogenous radioactive gas contamination constitutes the hardest challenge for radioprotection due to its elusive nature. Most common radioactive gas are Kr-85, Rn-222, and tritiated (H-3) vapors. Each of them has different challenges, often leading to specialized single-gas detectors. The state-of-the-art detection either produces chemical-radiological waste, is hard to implement online, or requires large volume. A new paradigm is presented for radioactive gas detection that can perform online detection on any gas and fit in the hand. This study use photoluminescent metal organic frameworks (MOFs) as both porous gas sponges and scintillators. The response of several zinc based MOF is studied, using a unique radioactive gas test bench. These tests showed that MOFs are able to both concentrate and detect successfully Kr-85. The investigation is completed with calibration with different activities. The study also reports detection of Rn-222, and measurement of its half-life. Finally, the study is completed with the successful detection of tritiated dihydrogen, commonly known to be a hard radionuclide to detect due to its low energy and penetration range. This paper shows that scintillating MOFs are a powerful solid-state approach and a practical solution to the challenge of radioactive gas measurements.