Novel Nanocomposites for Luminescent Thermometry with Two Different Modalities.

Area of Science:

• Nanotechnology
• Materials Science
• Optical Sensing

Background:

• Nanoscale temperature measurements are crucial for biological applications.
• Existing methods face challenges in accuracy and reliability.
• Developing robust nanoscale thermometry is an ongoing scientific pursuit.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a dual-modality optical temperature sensor using nanocomposites.
• To integrate fluorescent nanodiamonds (FNDs) and upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) for simultaneous sensing.
• To enhance the confidence and accuracy of nanoscale temperature measurements.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a nanocomposite structure integrating FNDs and UCNPs (ND@UCNP).
• Characterization of the nanocomposite using high-resolution TEM, X-ray diffraction, and dual-excitation optical spectroscopy.
• Simultaneous optical temperature measurements using the synthesized ND@UCNP nanocomposites.

Main Results:

• Effective integration of FND and UCNP shells within the nanocomposite was confirmed.
• Simultaneous temperature measurements demonstrated excellent agreement within the sensitivity limits.
• The dual-modality sensing approach validated the temperature readings.

Conclusions:

• The developed ND@UCNP nanocomposites enable reliable simultaneous optical temperature sensing.
• This dual-modality approach significantly improves confidence in nanoscale temperature measurements.
• The findings are expected to address controversies in nanoscale thermometry for biological applications.