Preparation of nanoparticle-based aerogels for real-time radioactive gas detection
Résumé
The measurement of pure β emitting radioactive gases such as 3H and 85Kr is of major importance for the nuclear safety authorities, and will meet an increasing demand
with the expansion of nuclear-based energy production. Due to the short penetration length of β electrons in air, gaseous β emitters must be mixed with radiosensitive
elements to enable detection. These are either gas-gas mixtures in an ionization chamber, or gas-liquid mixtures in liquid scintillation. However, none of these existing
methods combine real-time analysis, sensitivity to multiple gases, and ease of deployment for on-site measurements.
We demonstrate a new gas-solid mixture approach using inorganic aerogels as nanoporous scintillators. This method combines the above criteria, allowing efficient realtime
measurement of 3H and 85Kr activity. Here, we focus on the preparation of the scintillation aerogels, from 10g-scale nanoparticle synthesis to supercritical drying.
Mots clés
radioactivity
ionizing radiation
metrology
radioactive gas
beta-rays
3H
85Kr
short penetration length
detector
ionization chamber
liquid scintillation counting
primary activity measurement
aerogel
nanoporous scintillator
inorganic scintillator
realtime measurement
scintillation aerogel
preparation
nanoparticle synthesis
supercritical drying