Energy Transfer and Quenching in Plastic Scintillators

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Abstract
Luminescence quenching in polystyrene + 9,10-diphenylanthracene + quencher and polystyrene + quencher systems has been investigated. In the latter system, the residual styrene monomer is regarded as a fluorescent solute. Result show that solvent quenching observed under uv excitation is due mainly to the competition between dipole-dipole energy transfer from polystyrene to the fluor and that from polystyrene to the quencher, and that such a transfer occurs directly from an excited polystyrene segment before it forms an excimer with an unexcited segment. Solvent quenching under beta-ray excitation was generally greater than that under uv excitation. It is suggested that this phenomenon may result from the occurrence of energy transfer at higher excited state of polystyrene. Solute quenching in some series of polystyrene + 9,10-diphenylanthracene + quencher is not accounted for by usual mechanisms of quenching. Such quenching can be explained by assuming energy transfer from the singlet excited state of 9,10-diphenylanthracene to the triplet state of the quencher.