A nanosponge capable of absorbing and revealing radioactive gases dangerous to health and polluting the environment has been obtained by researchers from the Department of Materials Science of the University of Milano-Bicocca, led by Angelo Monguzzi, Angiolina Comotti, Silvia Bracco and Anna Vedda. The new material, described in the journal Nature Photonics, could find applications in the monitoring of nuclear power plants as well as in the management of contrast agents used in diagnostic tests in medicine.
“The current detectors, based on liquid scintillators, require laborious and expensive preparations, and their sensitivity is strongly limited by the solubility of the gases. The technological challenge from which we started – explains Monguzzi – was to identify new solid scintillator materials that were simultaneously capable of concentrating radioactive gas and emitting visible light, detected with high sensitivity.”
The sparkling nanosponge developed by the Bicocca researchers is able to capture the atoms of radioactive gases, with which it interacts by emitting light. This process makes it possible to measure dangerous substances with greater precision and to identify much smaller quantities than in the past.
“Our material has demonstrated superior sensitivity compared to currently commercially available detectors”, underlines Comotti. “We will therefore continue our research following a development program until we create a prototype capable of replacing the technologies in use for the detection of these substances with a simpler, less expensive and much more performing device”
Source: Ansa
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