FluoroTome 1: An Apparatus for Tomographic Imaging of Radio-Fluorogenic (RFG) Gels.

Radio-fluorogenic (RFG) gels become permanently fluorescent when exposed to high-energy radiation with the intensity of the emission proportional to the local dose of radiation absorbed. An apparatus is described, FluoroTome 1, that is capable of taking a series of tomographic images (thin slices) of the fluorescence of such an irradiated RFG gel on-site and within minutes of radiation exposure. These images can then be compiled to construct a 3D movie of the dose distribution within the gel. The historical development via a laboratory-bench prototype to a readily transportable, user-friendly apparatus is described. Instrumental details and performance tests are presented.

A Radio-Fluorogenic Polymer-Gel Makes Fixed Fluorescent Images of Complex Radiation Fields.

We review the development and application of an organic polymer-gel capable of producing fixed, three-dimensional fluorescent images of complex radiation fields. The gel consists for more than 99% of γ-ray-polymerized (~15% conversion) tertiary-butyl acrylate (TBA) containing ~100 ppm of a fluorogenic compound, e.g., maleimido-pyrene (MPy). The radio-fluorogenic effect depends on copolymerization of the MPy into growing chains of TBA on radiation-induced polymerization. This converts the maleimido residue, which quenches the pyrene fluorescence, into a succinimido moeity (SPy), which does not. The intensity of the fluorescence is proportional to the yield of free-radicals formed and hence to the local dose deposited. Because the SPy moieties are built into the polymer network, the image is fixed. The method of preparing the gel and imaging the radiation-induced fluorescence are presented and discussed. The effect is illustrated with fluorescent images of the energy deposited in the gel by beams of X-rays, electrons, and protons as well as a radioactive isotope.

High charge-carrier mobility in pi-deficient discotic mesogens: design and structure-property relationship.

Hexaazatrinaphthylene (HATNA) derivatives with six alkylsulfanyl chains of different length (hexyl, octyl, decyl and dodecyl) have been designed to obtain new potential electron-carrier materials. The electron-deficient nature of these compounds has been demonstrated by cyclic voltammetry. Their thermotropic behaviour has been studied by means of differential scanning calorimetry and polarised optical microscopy. The supramolecular organisation of these discotic molecules has been explored by temperature-dependent X-ray diffraction on powders and oriented samples. In addition to various liquid crystalline columnar phases (Col(hd), Col(rd)), an anisotropic plastic crystal phase is demonstrated to exist. The charge-carrier mobilities have been measured with the pulse-radiolysis time-resolved microwave-conductivity technique. They are found to be higher in the crystalline than in the liquid crystalline phases, with maximum values of approximately 0.9 and 0.3 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), respectively, for the decylsulfanyl derivative. Mobilities strongly depend on the nature of the side chains.

The optical and charge transport properties of discotic materials with large aromatic hydrocarbon cores.

The optical absorption and charge transport properties of a series of discotic molecules consisting of peripherally alkyl-substituted polycyclic aromatic cores have been investigated for core sizes, n, of 24, 42, 60, 78, 96, and 132 carbon atoms. In dilute solution, the wavelength maximum of the first absorption band increases linearly with n according to lambda(max) = 280 + 2n and the spectral features become increasingly broadened. The two smallest core compounds display a slight red-shift and increased spectral broadening in spin-coated films. For derivatives with n = 24, 42, 60, and 96, the one-dimensional, intracolumnar charge mobility, Sigma mu(1D), was determined using the pulse-radiolysis time-resolved microwave conductivity technique. For the compounds which were crystalline solids at room temperature, Sigma mu(1D) lay within the range 0.4-1.0 cm(2)/Vs. In the discotic mesophases at ca. 100 degrees C, Sigma mu(1D) was somewhat lower and varied from 0.08 to 0.38 cm(2)/Vs. The mobility values in both phases are considerably larger than the maximum values found previously for discotic triphenylene derivatives. However, the recently proposed trend toward increasing mobility with increasing core size is not substantiated by the results on the present series of increasingly large aromatic core compounds.

Efficient Intermolecular Charge Transport in Self-Assembled Fibers of Mono- and Bithiophene Bisurea Compounds.

Hydrogen bonds between urea units allow self-organization of π systems in mono- and bithiophenes into fibers as shown schematically. In these fibers there is a surprisingly high mobility of charge carriers as determined by pulse-radiolysis time-resolved microwave conductivity measurements.