TY - JOUR A1 - Tan, M. A1 - Monks, Melissa-Jane A1 - Huang, D. A1 - Meng, Y. A1 - Chen, X. A1 - Zhou, Y A1 - Lom, S.-F. A1 - Würth, Christian A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute A1 - Chen, G. T1 - Efficient sub-15 nm cubic-phase core/Shell upconversion nanoparticles as reporters for ensemble and single particle studies† JF - Royal Society of Chemistry N2 - Single particle imaging of upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) has typically been realized using hexagonal (β) phase lanthanide-doped sodium yttrium fluoride (NaYF4) materials, the upconversion luminescence (UCL) of which saturates at power densities (P) of several hundred W cm−2 under 980 nm nearinfrared (NIR) excitation. Cubic (α) phase UCNPs have been mostly neglected because of their commonly observed lower UCL efficiency at comparable P in ensemble level studies. Here, we describe a set of sub-15 nm ytterbium-enriched α-NaYbF4:Er3+@CaF2 core/shell UCNPs doped with varying Er3+ concentrations (5–25%), studied over a wide P range of ∼8–105 W cm−2, which emit intense UCL even at a low P of 10 W cm−2 and also saturate at relatively low P. The highest upconversion quantum yield (ΦUC) and the highest particle brightness were obtained for an Er3+ dopant concentration of 12%, reaching the highest ΦUC of 0.77% at a saturation power density (Psat) of 110 W cm−2. These 12%Er3+-doped core/shell UCNPs were also the brightest UCNPs among this series under microscopic conditions at high P of ∼102–105 W cm−2 as demonstrated by imaging studies at the single particle level. Our results underline the potential applicability of the described sub-15 nm cubic-phase core/shell UCNPs for ensemble- and single particle- level bioimaging. KW - Nano KW - Nanomaterial KW - Upconversion nanoparticle KW - Lanthanide KW - Photoluminescence KW - Quantum yield KW - Photophysics KW - Lifetime KW - Sensor KW - Surface chemistry KW - Single particle KW - Brightness PY - 2020 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d0nr02172e VL - 12 IS - 19 SP - 10592 EP - 10599 PB - Nanoscale AN - OPUS4-50908 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Monks, Melissa-Jane A1 - Ritter, B. A1 - Würth, Christian A1 - Krahl, T. A1 - Kemnitz, E. A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute T1 - Rare earth strontium fluoride nanocrystals prepared via sol gel synthesis - Spectroscopic study of upconversion luminescence properties N2 - Obtaining high quality upconverting nanocrystals with only little crystal defects and hence, a high luminescence, affords a reliable synthesis route. Only this guarantees the reproducibility of the material and its spectroscopic properties required for future application. The fluorolytic sol-gel synthesis appears to be a convenient attempt, as this is a method with only few steps influencing the material properties, which can be well controlled. Also creating bright upconverting nanocrystals requires a profound understanding of the interplay of photophysical processes like multiphoton absorption, radiative and non-radiative pathways, and energy transfer in the material. Based on steady-state and time resolved luminescence measurements at different excitation power densities, the influence of the lanthanide doping ratio and synthesis parameters such as the annealing process on SrF2-nanocrystals obtained via the fluorolytic sol-gel synthesis was systematically studied. T2 - GDCh Wissenschaftsforum Chemie CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 10.09.2017 KW - Upconversion KW - Strontiumfluoride KW - Annealing study KW - Doping study KW - Luminescence PY - 2017 AN - OPUS4-42944 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -