In-situ grown polymer-ceramic scintillator and applications on X-ray multi-energy curved surface imaging

Abstract In-situ grown scintillators have attracted extensive attention in the field of high-resolution X-ray imaging due to their excellent film uniformity. In the process of in-situ growth, reasonable selection of polymer host is vital, which can effectively inhibit nanocrystal agglomeration and Ostwald ripening. Still, rationality and effective basis for polymer selection is lacked. Here, we propose a general in-situ growth method on a variety of perovskite with prototypical polymers. Both theoretical calculations and experimental results show that the performance of the in-situ grown film is improved by the electron-donating ability of the Lewis base functional group and the strength of the chemical bond in the polymer. Moreover, vitamins doping further reduce grain boundaries and adequately passivating the surface defects. Cs 3 Cu 2 I 5 perovskite with polyvinyl alcohol host film exhibit yield of 55521 photons/MeV, spatial resolution of 14.0 lp mm −1 and long-term stability. Due to scintillator mechanical deformability, curved X-ray imaging has been achieved, overcoming planar sensor limitations in complex geometric applications. Benefiting from the universal applicability of this growth method, we synthesize a series of scintillators exhibiting distinct X-ray energy-dependent response. Through strategic architectural design of scintillator hetero-stacking, we achieve four-channel multispectral X-ray imaging across the 10 keV to 60 keV energy range. Graphical Abstract