dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaPhenylxylylethane (PXE): a high-density, high-flashpoint organic liquid scintillator for applications in low-energy particle and astrophysics experiments
| Authors | Borexino Collaboration |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0408032 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0408032 |
Abstract
We report on the study of a new liquid scintillator target for neutrino interactions in the framework of the research and development program of the BOREXINO solar neutrino experiment. The scintillator consists of 1,2-dimethyl-4-(1-phenylethyl)-benzene (phenyl-o-xylylethane, PXE) as solvent and 1,4-diphenylbenzene (para-Terphenyl, p-Tp) as primary and 1,4-bis(2-methylstyryl)benzene (bis-MSB) as secondary solute. The density close to that of water and the high flash point makes it an attractive option for large scintillation detectors in general. The study focused on optical properties, radioactive trace impurities and novel purification techniques of the scintillator. Attenuation lengths of the scintillator mixture of 12 m at 430 nm were achieved after purification with an alumina column. A radio carbon isotopic ratio of C-14/C-12 = 9.1 * 10^{-18}$ has been measured in the scintillator. Initial trace impurities, e.g. U-238 at 3.2 * 10^{-14} g/g could be purified to levels below 10^{-17} g/g by silica gel solid column purification.
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"abstract": "We report on the study of a new liquid scintillator target for neutrino\ninteractions in the framework of the research and development program of the\nBOREXINO solar neutrino experiment. The scintillator consists of\n1,2-dimethyl-4-(1-phenylethyl)-benzene (phenyl-o-xylylethane, PXE) as solvent\nand 1,4-diphenylbenzene (para-Terphenyl, p-Tp) as primary and\n1,4-bis(2-methylstyryl)benzene (bis-MSB) as secondary solute. The density close\nto that of water and the high flash point makes it an attractive option for\nlarge scintillation detectors in general. The study focused on optical\nproperties, radioactive trace impurities and novel purification techniques of\nthe scintillator. Attenuation lengths of the scintillator mixture of 12 m at\n430 nm were achieved after purification with an alumina column. A radio carbon\nisotopic ratio of C-14/C-12 = 9.1 * 10^{-18}$ has been measured in the\nscintillator. Initial trace impurities, e.g. U-238 at 3.2 * 10^{-14} g/g could\nbe purified to levels below 10^{-17} g/g by silica gel solid column\npurification.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0408032",
"authors": [
"Borexino Collaboration"
],
"categories": [
"physics.ins-det",
"astro-ph"
],
"title": "Phenylxylylethane (PXE): a high-density, high-flashpoint organic liquid scintillator for applications in low-energy particle and astrophysics experiments",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0408032"
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