Bright and Durable Copper‐Iodide‐Based Nanowire Scintillators

ABSTRACT

The increasing demand for high‐speed X‐ray imaging requires scintillators with high light yield, rapid decay, and structural stability. Metal halide nanowires (NWs) have emerged as promising candidates due to their distinctive optical properties, high surface‐area‐to‐volume ratio, high light yield, and high spatial resolution. However, their practical application is hindered by complex synthesis routes and performance degradation during the liquid–solid phase transition. Here, using CsCu ₂ I ₃ NWs as a model system, we develop a streamlined low‐temperature crystallization synthesis method and further introduce a surface protective agent strategy that significantly enhances scintillation performance. Through the use of tailored protective agents, the photoluminescence quantum yield of NWs increases from 12.78% to 21.65%, while the X‐ray light yield improves by approximately ninefold, reaching ∼77,500 photons MeV ^{− 1} . The optimized scintillator achieves a low detection limit of 59.20 nGy _air ·s ^{− 1} , which is approximately 93‐fold lower than the typical dose rate of standard medical X‐ray diagnostics. Identical SPA treatment delivers uniform luminescence improvement across zero‐and one‐dimensional copper halide systems, confirming the generalizable regulatory effect of the proposed ligand coordination framework. This efficient and scalable approach not only advances nanowire‐based scintillators but also provides a generalizable pathway for stabilizing solution‐processed nanomaterials and accelerating their commercial adoption.