Molecular Confinement Engineering of Mn(II) Halide Scintillators for High-Resolution X-ray Imaging and Three-Dimensional Computed Tomography

Abstract

Abstract Metal halide scintillators hold great promise for next-generation X-ray imaging, yet manganese(II)-based halide scintillators suffer from structural instability and thermally activated nonradiative losses arising from their soft lattice nature. Here, we develop a molecular confinement engineering strategy by integrating zero-dimensional CPT2MnBr4 emitters into a cross-linked ionogel network. This strategy simultaneously suppresses moisture-induced degradation and weakens electron–phonon coupling of the embedded emitters. The resulting Mn-IG scintillator exhibits substantially enhanced environmental durability and thermal stability, a high light yield of 19,777 photons Me V–1, and a spatial resolution of 12.7 lp mm–1. Benefiting from high optical transparency and suppressed photon scattering, the Mn-IG scintillator enables high-fidelity X-ray radiography and three-dimensional computed tomography reconstruction. This work establishes molecular confinement engineering as a general strategy for regulating photophysical processes in metal halide scintillators and advancing durable high-resolution X-ray imaging technologies.