Rare-earth loaded liquid scintillator (for LENS experiment)

Rare-earth (Yb/Gd) complexes with neutral organophosphorus ligands are briefly discussed for their application in liquid scintillation technique. To evaluate the principle feasibility of a high rare-earth loaded scintillator, the ytterbium chloride complexes with tri-isoamylphosphine oxides were synthesized. Relative scintillation efficiency (RSE) for two Yb concentrations (78 and 88 g/L) was measured by means of the internal conversion electron exitation from Cs-137. The results obtained were 50 and 40% respectively.