High-efficiency organic glass scintillators

A method of making a compound, comprising:

• functionalizing a luminescent organic group;
• reacting the functionalized luminescent organic group with a central species to produce a compound with tripodal or tetrahedral geometry wherein one or more of the luminescent organic groups are bonded to the central species;
• wherein the central species is selected from the group consisting of:
• silicon, phosphorus, nitrogen, tin, germanium;
• an oxide, salt, or alkyl salt of silicon, phosphorus, nitrogen, tin, or germanium;
• or a rotationally symmetric organic species, or combination of any of these;
• wherein the luminescent organic group is selected to inhibit pi-pi stacking of the compound.

A method for conducting scintillation, the method comprising:

• generating luminescence with a glass scintillating compound in the presence of ionizing radiation, the glass scintillating compound including:
• a central species selected from the group consisting of:
• silicon, phosphorus, nitrogen, tin, germanium;
• an oxide, salt, or alkyl salt of silicon, phosphorus, nitrogen, tin, or germanium;
• or a rotationally symmetric organic species, or combination of any of these;
• a luminescent organic group bonded to the central species or to an optional organic linker group;
• the optional organic linker group if present is bonded to the central species and the luminescent organic group;
• wherein the compound is in the form of an amorphous glass and is capable of scintillation;
• detecting photons from the glass scintillating compound with a photodetector.