Gold-shell coated NaYF4:Er3+, Yb3+ nanoparticles for the enhancement of fluorescence emission
- In the present work, we aim to explore how far the UCNP emission intensity can be enhanced by the aid of plasmonic interactions using a gold shell. The distance between the UCNP core and the gold shell is varied by adding a silica spacer of different thicknesses.
The synthetic conditions for obtaining UCNP@SiO2@Au core-shell nanoparticles with precisely tuneable silica shell thicknesses were investigated. A gold shell on the UCNP@SiO2 nanoparticles is expected to give rise to a noticeable enhancement of particle brightness and fluorescence, given that the thicknesses of the silica shell and the gold coating can be controlled and fine-tuned. First single particle studies revealing shortening of the Er3+ lifetimes suggest that plasmonic enhancement occurs.