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Inorganic nanocrystals with linear and nonlinear luminescence in the ultraviolet, visible, near infrared and shortwave infrared like semiconductor quantum dots and spectrally shifting lanthanide-based nanophosphors have meanwhile found applications in the life and material sciences ranging from optical reporters for bioimaging and sensing over security barcodes to solid state lighting and photovoltaics. These nanomaterials commonly have increasingly sophisticated core/shell particle architectures with shells of different chemical composition and thickness to minimize radiationless deactivation at the particle surface that is usually the main energy loss mechanism [1]. For lanthanide-based spectral shifters, particularly for very small nanoparticles, also surface coatings are needed which protect near-surface lanthanide ions from luminescence quenching by high energy vibrators like O-H groups and prevent the disintegration of these nanoparticles under high dilution conditions. [2,3,4]. The identification of optimum particle structures requires quantitative spectroscopic studies focusing on the key performance parameter photoluminescence quantum yield [5,6], ideally flanked by single particle studies to assess spectroscopic inhomogeneities on a particle-to-particle level for typical preparation methods [7], Moreover, in the case of upconversion nanoparticles with a multi-photonic and hence, excitation power density (P)-dependent luminescence, quantitative luminescence studies over a broad P range are required to identify particle architectures that are best suited for applications in fluorescence assays up to fluorescence microscopy. Here, we present methods to quantify the photoluminescence of these different types of emitters in the vis/NIR/SWIR and as function of Pand demonstrate the importance of such measurements for a profound mechanistic understanding of the nonradiative deactivation pathways in semiconductor and upconversion nanocrystals of different size and particle architecture in different environments.
The concept of aggregation-induced emission represents a means to rationalise photoluminescence of usually nonfluorescent excimers in solid-state materials. In this publication, we study the photophysical properties of selected diaminodicyanoquinone (DADQ) derivatives in the solid state using a combined approach of experiment and theory. DADQs are a class of high-dipole organic chromophores promising for applications in non-linear optics and light-harvesting devices. Among the compounds investigated, we find both aggregation-induced emission and aggregation-caused quenching effects rationalised by calculated energy transfer rates. Analysis of fluorescence spectra and lifetime measurements provide the interesting result that (at least) two emissive species seem to contribute to the photophysical properties of DADQs. The main emission peak is notably broadened in the long-wavelength limit and exhibits a blue-shifted shoulder. We employ high-level quantum-chemical methods to validate a molecular approach to a solid-state problem and show that the complex emission features of DADQs can be attributed to a combination of H-type aggregates, monomers, and crystal structure defects.
Controlling thickness and tightness of surface passivation shells is crucial for many applications of core–shell nanoparticles (NP). Usually, to determine shell thickness, core and core/shell particle are measured individually requiring the availability of both nanoobjects. This is often not fulfilled for functional nanomaterials such as many photoluminescent semiconductor quantum dots (QD) used for bioimaging, solid state lighting, and display technologies as the core does not show the applicationrelevant functionality like a high photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield, calling for a whole nanoobject approach. By combining high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), a novel whole nanoobject approach is developed representatively for an ultrabright oleic acid-stabilized, thick shell CdSe/CdS QD with a PL quantum yield close to unity. The size of this spectroscopically assessed QD, is in the range of the information depth of usual laboratory XPS. Information on particle size and monodispersity were validated with dynamic light scattering (DLS) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and compared to data derived from optical measurements. In addition to demonstrating the potential of this novel whole nanoobject approach for determining architectures of small nanoparticles, the presented results also highlight challenges faced by different sizing and structural analysis methods and method-inherent uncertainties.
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.