2025/10/08 by Hans Steiger, Marco Beretta, Steiger, Hans Th. J. +18
Chemical Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research #Catalysis and Oxidation Reactions #FOS: Physical sciences #Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det) #Radiation Detection and Scintillator Technologies
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2510.06665
openalex publication_date 2025/10/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/18 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
One promising approach for future neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) searches is the incorporation of candidate isotopes into liquid scintillator detectors. In this work, a sample of the high-performance 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene-based liquid scintillator used in the Borexino experiment was loaded with different concentrations of Te-diol compounds. To realize the loading, a modified water-free synthesis procedure in a non-acidic organic environment at room temperature was employed. The loaded scintillator mixtures were characterized with respect to their emission spectra, optical absorbance, light yield, and scintillation time profiles under α excitation. Within the experimental uncertainties, only comparatively small changes in the spectral emission shape and optical transmission were observed for Te-loadings up to 2%. At the same time, a systematic reduction of the scintillation light yield with increasing Te concentration was measured. At 1% Te-loading, an estimated light yield of approximately 8400 photons/MeVee was obtained. Furthermore, the scintillation time profile measurements indicate systematically shorter effective decay time constants for increasing Te-loading, consistent with enhanced non-radiative de-excitation processes introduced by the Te-diol complexes. Overall, the results demonstrate that the investigated loading technique can be successfully applied to a pseudocumene-based liquid scintillator while preserving the principal scintillation characteristics of the system.