1 Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Centre for NanoScience Research, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke St. W. Montreal, Quebec, CanadaH4B 1R6. John.Capobianco@Concordia.ca.
2 College of Sciences, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing 400065, People's Republic of China and Institute of Physics, University of Tartu, W. Ostwald Str. 1, Tartu 50411, Estonia and Institute of Physics, Jan Dlugosz University, Armii Krajowej 13/15, PL-42200 Czestochowa, Poland.
3 Department of Electrical, Computer & Energy Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0425, USA.

Recent insights into upconverting nanoparticles: spectroscopy, modeling, and routes to improved luminescence.

Nanoscale. 2019 May 23;:

Authors: Tessitore G, Mandl GA, Brik MG, Park W, Capobianco JA

Abstract

The development of reliable and reproducible synthetic routes that produce monodisperse lanthanide-doped upconverting nanoparticles has resulted in an appreciable need to determine the mechanisms which govern upconversion luminescence at the nanoscale. New experimental and theoretical evidence explicates the quenching phenomena involved in the low luminescence efficiencies. A deeper understanding of the role of surfaces and defects in the quenching mechanisms and the properties of upconverting nanoparticles are of fundamental importance to develop nanomaterials with enhanced luminescence properties. Herein, we summarize the most recent spectroscopic investigations, which have enabled the scientific community to ascertain that the predominant source of quenching involved in the luminescence of lanthanide-doped upconverting nanoparticles can be attributed to surface-defects. Modeling of these mechanisms in nanomaterials supports the experimental findings and yields further insights into the surface phenomena, providing a predictive tool to improve the luminescent efficiencies in nanomaterials.

PMID: 31120083 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]