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Synthesis of Core-shell Lanthanide-doped Upconversion Nanocrystals for Cellular Applications
Published on: November 10, 2017
Enhancing energy migration upconversion through a migratory interlayer in the core-shell-shell nanostructure towards
Xixi Wang1, Long Yan, Songbin Liu
1State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fiber Laser Materials and Applied Techniques, and Guangdong Engineering Technology Research and Development Center of Special Optical Fiber Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510641, China. zhoubo@scut.edu.cn.
Researchers enhanced photon upconversion luminescence in rare earth ions by inserting a NaGdF4 interlayer. This strategy minimizes quenching and improves multicolor latent fingerprint recognition for anti-counterfeiting applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Luminescence
Background:
- Photon upconversion is crucial for rare earth ion luminescence and applications.
- Energy Migration Mediated Upconversion (EMU) is a key model for lanthanide upconversion.
- Interfacial interactions in core-shell structures can cause luminescence quenching.
Purpose of the Study:
- To enhance photon upconversion luminescence in core-shell nanostructures.
- To investigate and minimize interfacial quenching effects in EMU processes.
- To develop advanced materials for anti-counterfeiting applications.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of NaGdF4:Yb/Tm@NaGdF4@NaGdF4:A core-shell-shell nanostructures.
- Insertion of a NaGdF4 interlayer to mitigate interfacial quenching.
- Investigation of interfacial quenching mechanisms between Tm3+ and shell emitters.
- Evaluation of upconversion enhancement under 980 nm excitation.
Main Results:
- The NaGdF4 interlayer effectively enhanced photon upconversion luminescence.
- Minimized unwanted quenching processes at the core-shell interface.
- Achieved enhanced multicolor upconversion luminescence in the designed nanostructures.
- Demonstrated multicolor latent fingerprint recognition with improved detail visibility.
Conclusions:
- The NaGdF4 interlayer strategy successfully enhances upconversion luminescence by reducing interfacial quenching.
- Optimized upconversion nanoparticles show significant potential for anti-counterfeiting applications, particularly in fingerprint recognition.
- This work provides a new approach for designing efficient upconversion nanomaterials.
