Scattering-free lanthanide-ionic liquid scintillators for high-resolution and adaptive X-ray imaging

X-ray imaging requires effective light transmission through scintillation screens. However, solid or solution-based scintillators suffer from photon scattering and attenuation. While prior efforts have focused on improving light extraction in solid-state scintillators through nanostructuring or optical engineering, challenges remain in mitigating internal scattering losses. Here, we report a liquid scintillator-based strategy that eliminates light scattering by exploiting in-situ coordination between lanthanide ions and ionic liquid ligands. This coordination chemistry ensures high structural homogeneity and optical transparency. Combined with self-absorption-free lanthanides, this approach achieves over 93% scintillation light transmittance, boosting X-ray imaging spatial resolution to 26 lp mm-1 within a 1 mm scintillation screen. Our scintillators exhibit long-term stability and environmental compatibility, leveraging the inherent properties of ionic liquids for sustained and biocompatible X-ray imaging. Their fluidic and shape-adaptive nature enables the development of convex and zoom scintillation lenses, facilitating uniform omni-angle X-ray detection and in-situ zoom X-ray imaging. Qiu et al. report an intrinsic liquid scintillator which eliminates the light scattering by exploring in-situ coordination between lanthanide ions and ionic liquid ligands. The liquid scintillator is biocompatible with high uniformity for omni-angle X-ray detection. Convex scintillation lens is demonstrated for enlarged X-ray imaging.