Enhancement and regulation of fluorescence emission from NaYF4:Yb3+, Er3+ nanocrystals by codoping Mn2+ ions

NaYF4:Yb3+, Er3+, Mn2+ nanocrystals with cubic crystal phase were obtained by a facile solvothermal method through doping a proper amount of Mn2+ ions to the nanocrystals. The results of XRD and TEM showed that the as-prepared samples were well crystallized and their average size was about 25 nm. Under excitations at 978.5 nm and at 532 nm, obvious enhancement and regulation of upconversion and downconversion fluorescence were obtained. Upconversion emission spectra indicate that these effects were independent of doped concentrations of Er3+ and Yb3+, excitation power, and the excitation wavelength in the current study. It is concluded that the enhancement of fluorescence emissions is mainly due to the change of local symmetry around Er3+ ions, while the regulation of red-to-green ratios was caused by efficient energy transfer between Er3+ and Mn2+ ions. This kind of upconversion material has a great potential in bioimaging and drug delivery since the excitation and emission falls into the region of "optical window" of biological tissues.