Colour modulation and enhancement of upconversion emissions in K_(2)NaScF_(6):Yb/Ln(Ln=Er,Ho,Tm) nanocrystals

Effective colour modulation of upconversion emissions in lanthanide-doped nanomaterials becomes even more important for fundamental and applied research.Herein,on the one hand,by raising the content of doped Yb^(3+)from 10 mol%to 50 mol%,a significant increase of the red/green emission ratio from 4.0 to 68.2 is observed in K_(2)NaScF_(6):Yb/Er nanocrystals.This yellow to red colour change is attributed to the increased cross relaxation between Er^(3+)and Yb^(3+)caused by the increased Yb^(3+)amount,^(4) S_(3/2)(Er^(3+))^(+2) F7/2(Yb^(3+))→4 I13/2(Er^(3+))^(+2) F5/2(Yb^(3+)).On the other hand,the upconversion green and red emission of K_(2)NaScF_(6):Yb/Er(20/2 mol%)nanocrystals are intensified 10.6 and 8.8 folds,respectively,after an active shell(K_(2)NaScF_(6):Yb)is epitaxially grown,which are more effective than the7.4-and 6.4-fold enhancement from an inert shell(K_(2)NaScF_(6))growth.Moreover,the shell thickness from2.85 to 9.5 nm through controlling the molar ratio of shell-precursor to core from 1:2 to 3:1 can be easily realized.This study will provide more opportunities for the application of K_(2)NaScF_(6):Yb/Ln nanoparticles in varied fields such as theranostics,photovoltaics,and photocatalysis.