TY - JOUR A1 - Wang, P. A1 - Morales-Marquez, R. A1 - Cervas, G. A1 - Hernandez Medel, A. A1 - Ogayar, M. P. A1 - Jimenez de Aberasturi, D. A1 - de Isidro-Gomez, A. I. A1 - Torres-Padro, A. A1 - Palomares, F. J. A1 - Garcia-Orrit, S. A1 - Sousa, C. T. A1 - Espinosa, A. A1 - Telle, H. H. A1 - Ortgies, D. H. A1 - Vega-Mayoral, V. A1 - Cabanillas-Gonzalez, J. A1 - Rodriguez, E. M. A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute A1 - Wegner, Karl David A1 - Juarez, B. H. T1 - The role of temperature in the photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of Ag2S-based nanocrystals N2 - Highly emissive Ag2S nanocrystals (NCs) passivated with a gradated shell incorporating Se and Zn were synthesized in air, and the temperature dependence of their photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) was quantified in both organic and aqueous media at B1200 nm. The relevance of this parameter, measured at physiological temperatures, is highlighted for applications that rely on the near infrared (NIR) photoluminescence of NCs, such as deep NIR imaging or luminescence nanothermometry. Hyperspectral NIR imaging shows that Ag2S-based NCs with a PLQY in organic media of about 10% are inefficient for imaging at 40 8C through 20 mm thick tissue with low laser irradiation power densities. In contrast, water-transferred Ag2S-based NCs with an initial PLQY of 2% in water exhibit improved robustness against temperature changes, enabling improved imaging performance. KW - Quantum dots KW - Ag2S KW - Fluorescence KW - Nanomaterial design KW - Advanced nanomaterials KW - Shortwave infrared (SWIR) KW - Temperature sensing PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-613877 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/D4MH01016G SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) AN - OPUS4-61387 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Wegner, Karl David T1 - Advancing Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) Emission N2 - There is a growing interest in the exploitation of the short-wave infrared (SWIR), which refers to the wavelength band of light between 900 nm and 2500 nm. Luminophores that emit in the SWIR are used in various areas of telecommunications, photovoltaics, security systems (night vision), and in biomedicine. In particular for biomedical applications, the SWIR range is highly promising because light scattering, absorption, and autofluorescence of tissue and biological compounds are strongly reduced compared to the visible (400–700 nm) and NIR (~700–900 nm). The benefits of SWIR-emissive QDs have been demonstrated for a variety of applications, such as in thermal sensing, as photoelectrochemical biosensor, in in vivo vascular imaging, and for fluorescence-guided surgery.[1] Full exploitation of SWIR photoluminescence (PL) imaging and sensing is currently hampered by i.) a lack of suitable advanced nanomaterials with a high PL quantum yield (PL QY) and a high brightness, that can be used safely in vivo and ii.) a lack of quantitative and reliable data on the optical properties of many SWIR emitters. Promising nanomaterials for the SWIR are heavy metal-free Ag2S quantum dots (QDs). Aiming for the development of SWIR advanced nanomaterials with optimum performance, we have dived deeper into the photophysical processes occurring in these nanomaterials, thereby exploring in depth how the environment such as temperature, surface ligand composition, and the incorporation of transition metals influence the optical properties Ag2S QDs. We observed a strong enhancement of the SWIR emission of upon addition of metal ions such as Zn2+, yielding PL quantum yields of about 10% and thus making them highly suitable for non-invasive deep imaging of vascular networks and 3D fluid flow mapping. T2 - Anakon 2025 CY - Leipzig, Germany DA - 10.03.2025 KW - Quantum dots KW - Nano KW - Particle KW - SWIR KW - Fluorescence KW - Temperature KW - Ag2S KW - Quality assuarance KW - Ligand KW - Sensor PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-62769 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Wegner, Karl David T1 - Exploring the photoluminescence of gold NCs and Ag2S NPs to boost their SWIR emission N2 - Current challenges and objectives for non-invasive optical bioimaging are deep tissue penetration, high detection sensitivity, high spatial and temporal resolution, and fast data acquisition. A promising spectral window to tackle these challenges is the short-wave infrared (SWIR) ranging from 900 nm to 1700 nm where scattering, absorption, and autofluorescence of biological components are strongly reduced compared to the visible/NIR. At present, the best performing SWIR contrast agents are based on nanomaterials containing toxic heavy-metal ions like cadmium or lead, which raises great concerns for biological applications. Promising heavy-metal free nanoscale candidates are gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) and Ag2S nanoparticles (NPs). The photoluminescence (PL) of both types of nanomaterials is very sensitive to their size, composition of their surface ligand shell, and element composition, which provides an elegant handle to fine-tune their absorption and emission features and boost thereby the size of the signals recorded in bioimaging studies. Aiming for the development of SWIR contrast agents with optimum performance, we dived deeper into the photophysical processes occurring in these nanomaterials, thereby exploring in depth how the environment, surface ligand composition, and the incorporation of transition metals influence the optical properties of AuNCs and Ag2S NPs. We observed a strong enhancement of the SWIR emission of AuNCs upon exposure to different local environments (in solution, polymer, and in the solid state). Addition of metal ions such as Zn2+ to Ag2S based NPs led to a strong PL enhancement, yielding PL quantum yields of about 10% and thus making them highly suitable for non-invasive deep imaging of vascular networks and 3D fluid flow mapping. T2 - NaNaX 10 - Nanoscience with Nanocrystals CY - Klosterneuburg, Austria DA - 03.07.2023 KW - Quantum dots KW - Ag2S KW - Fluorescence KW - SWIR KW - Gold nanocluster KW - Nanomaterial KW - bioimaging PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58104 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -