Nuclear energy emerges as a promising and environmentally friendly solution to counter the escalating levels of greenhouse gases resulting from excessive fossil fuel usage. Essential to harnessing this energy are nuclear batteries, devices designed to generate electric power by capturing the energy emitted during nuclear decay, including α or β particles and γ radiation. The allure of nuclear batteries lies in their potential for extended lifespan, high energy density, and adaptability in harsh environments where refueling or battery replacement may not be feasible. In this review, we narrow our focus to nuclear batteries utilizing non-thermal converters such as α- or β-voltaics, as well as those employing scintillation intermediates. Recent advancements in state-of-the-art direct radiation detectors and scintillators based on metal perovskite halides (MPHs) and chalcogenides (MCs) are compared to traditional detectors based on silicon and III-V materials, and scintillators based on inorganic lanthanide crystals. Notable achievements in MPH and MC detectors and scintillators, such as nano-Gy sensitivity, 100 photons/keV light yield, and radiation hardness, are highlighted. Additionally, limitations including energy conversion efficiency, power density, and shelf-life due to radiation damage in detectors and scintillators are discussed. Leveraging novel MPH and MC materials has the potential to propel nuclear batteries from their current size and power limitations to miniaturization, heightened efficiency, and increased power density. Furthermore, exploring niche applications for nuclear batteries beyond wireless sensors, low-power electronics, oil well monitoring, and medical fields presents enticing opportunities for future research and development.@en

Due to recent development in detector technology, photon-counting computed tomography (PCCT) has become a rapidly emerging medical imaging technology. Current PCCT systems rely on the direct conversion of X-ray photons into charge pulses, using CdTe, CZT, or Si semiconductor detectors. Indirect detection using ultrafast scintillators coupled to silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) offers a potentially more straightforward and cost-effective alternative. In this work a new 2D perovskite scintillator, benzylamonium lead bromide (BZA)₂PbBr₄, is experimentally characterised as function of temperature. The material exhibits a 4.2 ns decay time under X-ray excitation at room temperature and a light yield of 3700 photons/MeV. The simulation tool developed by Van der Sar et al. was used to model the pulse trains produced by a SiPM-based (BZA)₂PbBr₄ detector. The fast decay time of (BZA)₂PbBr₄ results in outstanding count-rate performance as well as very low statistical fluctuations in the simulated pulses. These features of (BZA)₂PbBr₄, combined with its cost-effective synthesis make (BZA)₂PbBr₄ very promising for PCCT.

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In this work the scintillation properties of PEA₂PbBr₄ are studied as function of temperature, accessing the potential use of these materials for low temperature applications. The scintillation properties and mechanism have been studied using a combination of temperature dependent photoluminescence emission and excitation, X-ray excited emission and decay measurements. At room temperature the X-ray excited emission is dominated by the 442 nm emission with a lifetime of 35.2 ns. Under UV-Vis photon excitation an additional emission peak is observed at 412 nm. At 10 K, both X-ray and UV-Vis photon excited emission spectra show a narrow emission peak at 412 nm and a broad emission band centred around 525 nm with a lifetime of 1.53 ns (24%) and 154 ns (76%) respectively. The exact nature of the observed emission peaks is not known. For this reason two potential mechanisms explaining the difference between UV-Vis photon and X-ray excitation and their temperature dependent emissions are explored. The total spectral intensity decreases to 72% of the intensity at room temperature at 10 K. It is suggested that the observed negative thermal quenching behaviour results from a combination of more self absorption and a higher degree of self trapped exciton formation under X-ray excitation. Based on the observed fast decay component at 10 K and light yield of 9400 photons per MeV at room temperature, showing only a 28% decrease at 10 K, could make this material potentially interesting for low temperature and fast timing applications.

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