Some new progress on the light absorption properties of linear alkyl benzene solvent

TL;DR

This study investigates the light absorption properties of linear alkyl benzene (LAB) used as a solvent in liquid scintillators for the JUNO experiment, focusing on attenuation length, impurities, and carbon-hydrogen ratio effects.

Contribution

It provides new measurements of LAB's attenuation length at 430 nm, analyzes impurity effects, and explores the relationship between carbon-hydrogen ratio and light absorption.

Findings

Attenuation length measurements at 430 nm for LAB samples.

Impurity analysis related to light absorption.

Correlation between carbon-hydrogen ratio and attenuation length.

Abstract

Linear alkyl benzene (LAB) will be used as the solvent of a liquid scintillator mixture for the JUNO antineutrino experiment in the near future. Its light absorption property should therefore be understood prior to its effective use in the experiment. Attenuation length measurements at a light wavelength of 430 nm have been performed on samples of LAB prepared for the purpose of the JUNO experiment. Inorganic impurities in LAB have also been studied for their possibilities of light absorption in our wavelength of interest. In view of a tentative plan by the JUNO collaboration to utilize neutron capture with hydrogen in the detector, we have also presented in this work, a study on the carbon-hydrogen ratio and the relationship thereof with the attenuation length of the samples.