Combinatorial Discovery of Lanthanide-Doped Nanocrystals with Spectrally Pure Upconverted Emission
Citations Over TimeTop 1% of 2012 papers
Abstract
Nanoparticles doped with lanthanide ions exhibit stable and visible luminescence under near-infrared excitation via a process known as upconversion, enabling long-duration, low-background biological imaging. However, the complex, overlapping emission spectra of lanthanide ions can hinder the quantitative imaging of samples labeled with multiple upconverting probes. Here, we use combinatorial screening of multiply doped NaYF(4) nanocrystals to identify a series of doubly and triply doped upconverting nanoparticles that exhibit narrow, spectrally pure emission spectra at various visible wavelengths. We then developed a comprehensive kinetic model validated by our extensive experimental data set. Applying this model, we elucidated the energy transfer mechanisms giving rise to spectrally pure emission. These mechanisms suggest design rules for electronic level structures that yield robust color tuning in lanthanide-doped upconverting nanoparticles. The resulting materials will be useful for background-free multicolor imaging and tracking of biological processes.
Related Papers
- → Color Tuning and White Light Emission via in Situ Doping of Luminescent Lanthanide Metal–Organic Frameworks(2013)219 cited
- → Electronegativity and structural characteristics of lanthanides(2004)41 cited
- New Opportunities for Lanthanide Luminescence(2007)
- → Complexation of lanthanide nitrates(1992)6 cited
- → Extraction of macro- and microamounts of lanthanides by D2EHPA(1990)6 cited