Considerable attention has been drawn to the advantages of using aromatic ring polymers for scintillation materials in radiation detection. Thus, it is important to identify and characterise those with the best potential. Here, we characterise poly (ether sulfone) (PES), which is an amber-coloured transparent resin that possesses sulfur as a main component and has a density of 1.37 g/cm(3). PES emits short-wavelength light with a 350-nm maximum. By taking into account its emission spectrum, we demonstrate that its effective refractive index is 1.74. Light yield distributions generated by Cs-137 and Bi-207 radioactive sources were obtained. PES has a light yield that is 2.21 times that of poly (ethylene terephthalate), and 0.31 times that of poly (ethylene naphthalate). The energy response to 5486 key alpha particles emitted from Am-241 was 546 +/- 81 key electron equivalents (keVee), while the energy resolution was 17.0 +/- 0.1%. The energy response to 6118 keV alpha particles emitted from Cf-252 was 598 +/- 83 keVee, while the energy resolution was 16.0 +/- 0.1%. Overall, PES has potential for use as a scintillation material in radiation detection. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.