BC-523 liquid scintillator contains natural boron (19.7% ¹⁰B) and BC-523A contains boron enriched in 10B to a minimum of 90%. Both liquid scintillators are useful for total absorption neutron spectrometry and have excellent pulse shape discrimination properties for neutron-gamma separation.

A fast neutron will produce a prompt recoil proton pulse with its initial scatterings in the liquid. Neutrons that are sufficiently thermalized within the scintillator are likely to undergo the ¹⁰B (n, a) capture. The capture pulse is in delayed coincidence with the prompt pulse and is used to identify neutron events. For neutron energies below 200 keV, the capture time constant is determined solely by the ¹⁰B concentration. The average capture time is 1.4 microseconds for BC-523 and about 0.5 microseconds for BC-523A.

BC-523 and BC-523A are supplied sealed in ready-to-use glass or metal cells.

Bulk: 1 Liter, 1 gallon (3.8 liters), 5 gallons (19 liters), 25 gallons (95 liters) and 55-gallon quantities.
MAB or MVB metal cells with typical 1"x1", 2"x2", 3"x3" & 5" diameters x 5" depth
VB-1, TPB-1, HB-1 glass cells: 1.5"x1.5", 2"x2" and 3" diameter x 3" depth

Scintillation Properties	BC-523	BC-523A
Light Output, %Anthracene	65	65
Wavelength of Maximum Emission, nm	425	425
Decay Time, short component, ns	3.7	3.7
Bulk Light Attenuation, meters	>4	>4
Atomic Composition
No. of H Atoms per cc (x10²²)	4.97	4.98
No. of C Atoms per cc (x10²²)	2.86	2.86
No. of O Atoms per cc (x10²²)	0.808	0.811
No of ¹⁰B Atoms per cc (x10²²)	0.053	0.243
No of ¹¹B Atoms per cc (x10²²)	0.216	0.027