Influence of Gd3+ doping concentration on the properties of Na(Y,Gd)F4:Yb3+, Tm3+ upconverting nanoparticles and their long-term aging behavior

We present a systematic study on the properties of Na(Y,Gd)F4-based upconverting nanoparticles (UCNP) doped with 18% Yb3+, 2% Tm3+, and the influence of Gd3+ (10–50 mol% Gd3+). UCNP were synthesized via the solvothermal method and had a range of diameters within 13 and 50 nm. Structural and photophysical changes were monitored for the UCNP samples after a 24-month incubation period in dry phase and further redispersion. Structural characterization was performed by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) as well as dynamic light scattering (DLS), and the upconversion luminescence (UCL) studies were executed at various temperatures (from 4 to 295 K) using time-resolved and steady-state spectroscopy. An increase in the hexagonal lattice phase with the increase of Gd3+ content was found, although the cubic phase was prevalent in most samples. The Tm3+-luminescence intensity as well as the Tm3+-luminescence decay times peaked at the Gd3+ concentration of 30 mol%. Although the general upconverting luminescence properties of the nanoparticles were preserved, the 24-month incubation period lead to irreversible agglomeration of the UCNP and changes in luminescence band ratios and lifetimes.

Erbium upconversion luminescence from sol–gel derived multilayer porous inorganic perovskite film

Erbium-doped barium titanate (BaTiO3:Er) xerogel film with a thickness of about 500 nm was formed on the porous strontium titanate (SrTiO[Formula: see text] xerogel film on Si substrate after annealing at 800[Formula: see text]C or 900[Formula: see text]C. The elaborated structures show room temperature upconversion luminescence under 980 nm excitation with the photoluminescence (PL) bands at 523, 546, 658, 800 and 830 nm corresponding to 2H[Formula: see text]4I[Formula: see text], 4S[Formula: see text]I[Formula: see text], 4F[Formula: see text]I[Formula: see text] and 4I[Formula: see text]4I[Formula: see text] transitions of trivalent erbium. Raman and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of BaTiO3:Er\porous SrTiO3\Si structure showed the presence of perovskite phases. Its excellent up-conversion optical performance will greatly broaden its applications in perovskite solar cells and high-end anti-counterfeiting technologies.

Upconversion luminescence and optical temperature-sensing property of LiNbO3:Yb3+/Er3+ nanoparticles

LiNbO3:Yb3+/Er3+ nanocubes with the average diameter of approximately 500 nm were firstly applied in non-invasion optical temperature sensors. As increasing the annealing temperature, a two orders of magnitude enhancement of...

Conjugate and non-conjugate controls of sensitizer to enhance dye-sensitized upconversion luminescence

Although dye sensitization is an efficient strategy to improve upconversion luminescence of lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs), the sensitization effect is limited due to the high probability of dyes aggregation. To...