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• X-ray-responsive PNIPAm-based microgels are obtained. • Diselenide/ditelluride crosslinkers are synthesized. • PNIPAm microgel-based interferometers are generated. • Interferometers can respond to 0–50 Gy X-rays with tunable colors. • Interferometers show ultrahigh sensitivity of 101.63 nm/Gy. We report the successful development of novel microgel-based interferometers for X-ray dose sensing, which can meet fast-developing and widespread applications of ionizing radiation. Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAm)-based microgels are crosslinked by different molecules (i.e., N, N'-methylenebisacrylamide (BIS), N, N'-bis(acryloyl)cystamine (BAC), bis(2-acrylamidoethyl) diselenide (BASe), and bis(2-acrylamidoethyl) ditelluride) (BATe). These color-tunable photonic materials are generated by sandwiching X-ray-responsive microgels between two Au layers. The radiolysis of an aqueous solution by X-ray irradiation yields •OH radicals, leading to the cleavage of crosslinkers of pNIPAm-based microgels. The chemical reaction induces the swelling of microgels, increasing the distance between the two Au layers of the interferometers. Eventually, the optical signal of the device (i.e., reflectance spectra and color) varies with the X-ray dose, showing an ultrahigh sensitivity of 101.63 nm/Gy. For the first time, our work provides novel microgel-based interferometers for spectral and visual X-ray dose detection via the chemical–mechanical-optical signal transduction strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AgI incorporated perovskite X-ray detectors were fabricated based on the spray-coating technique. The effect of AgI incorporation on the optoelectronic properties was systematically investigated. With suitable amount of AgI content, metal halide perovskite exhibited improved crystallinity, charge carrier mobility, lifetime, and X-ray sensitivity. [Display omitted] • Perovskite thick films were fabricated via spray-coating process. • The effect of AgI incorporation was carefully evaluated and optimized. • X-ray detectors based on the spray-coated perovskite thick junctions were fabricated. • High X-ray sensitivity, low detection limit and fast response were achieved. Metal halide perovskites have emerged as a promising candidate for ionizing radiation detection, thanks to the facile fabrication, excellent optoelectronic properties and high attenuation coefficient. In order to fully absorb the incident X-ray photons, X-ray detectors require relatively thick active layers. However, it is challenging to obtain thick perovskite films based on conventional solution-based techniques, due to the limited solubility and viscosity of the perovskite precursors. In this work, we introduced spray-coating to deposit perovskite films on various substrates, and achieved tunable and thick films. On the other hand, the charge transport is another issue limiting the device performance of perovskite X-ray detectors. Compared with conventional inorganic semiconductors, hybrid perovskites possess relatively poor charge carrier mobility and lifetime. To address this issue, we incorporate AgI within the perovskite precursor, and systematically investigated their optoelectronic properties. It was found that the optimized AgI incorporated perovskite films exhibited the highest mobility-lifetime product, resulted X-ray sensitivity up to 3433 μGy air −1 cm−2 and ultra-low detection limit of 3.5 nGy air s−1, suggesting great potential for X-ray detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]