A NIR to NIR rechargeable long persistent luminescence phosphor Ca_(2)Ga_(2)GeO_(7):Yb^(3+),Tb^(3+)

Near infrared to near infrared(NIR-NIR)photo-stimulated persistent luminescence(PSPL)has shown excellent potential in high-resolution bioimaging for deep tissues.However,the PSPL in NIR-Ⅱregion(900-1700 nm)is still lacking.In this work,Ca_(2)Ga_(2)GeO_(7):Yb^(3+),Tb^(3+)(CGGYT)phosphor with unique lowdimensional crystal structure was synthesized by high-temperature solid-state reaction.Thanks to the carriers transferring from deep traps to shallow ones induced by low energy light,the 978 nm PSPL originating from ^(2)F_(5/2) to ^(2)F_(7/2) transition of Yb^(3+)induced by multimode stimulating(980 nm or WLED)is successfully realized after pre-excited by UV lamp.The NIR PSPL of the specimen can be repeatedly stimulated after placed in dark for 12 h.Moreover,the results indicate that codoping with Tb^(3+)can significantly enhance the NIR-ⅡPSPL owing to the quantum cutting persistent energy transfer(QC PET)from Tb^(3+)to Yb^(3+).Our study points to a new direction for the future development of multimode PSPL materials for bioimaging or multimode optical storage applications.

Effects of annealing temperature and neodymium concentration on structural and photoluminescence properties of Nd^(3+)-doped Y_(2)O_(3)-SiO_(2) powders

We report the structural and photoluminescence(PL) properties of Nd^(3+)-doped Y_(2)O_(3)-SiO_(2) powders(Y_(2)O_(3)-SiO_(2):Nd^(3+)) as functions of annealing temperature and Nd^(3+) ion doping concentration.Y_(2)O_(3)-SiO_(2):Nd^(3+)powders were prepared using the high-energy ball-milling(HEBM) method,and their structural and PL properties were investigated using X-ray diffraction(XRD),Fourier transform infrared(FTIR) spectroscopy,and PL spectroscopy.The XRD results reveal a cubic phase without impurities,and the peak broadening decreases with an increase in annealing temperature due to the increase in the crystallite size.The PL emission intensity increases with an increase in annealing temperature.The highest PL emission intensity is observed for the 300-min milled mixture annealed at 1000℃ for 1 h with a Nd^(3+) concentration of 1 mol%.The PL peaks excited by 800 nm radiation were detected,centered at 1080 nm(^(4)F_(3/2)→^(4)I_(11/2)) and 1350 nm(^(4)F_(3/2)→^(4)I_(13/2)).

Polarity-activated super-resolution imaging probe for the formation and morphology of amyloid fibrils

The formation of amyloid plaques usually occurs in the early-stage of Alzheimer’s disease(AD).Stimulated emission depletion(STED)imaging provided a powerful tool for visualizing amyloid structures on the nanometer scale.However,many commercial probes adopted in detecting amyloid fibrils are inapplicable to STED imaging,owing to their unmatched absorption and emission wavelengths,small Stokes'shift,easy photo-bleaching,etc.Herein,we demonstrated a polarity-activated STED probe based on an intramolecular charge transfer donor(D)-7c-acceptor(A)compound.The electron-rich carbazole group and the electron-poor pyridinium bromide group,linked by 7i-conjugated thiophen-bridge,ensure strong near infrared(NIR)emission with a Stokes'shift larger than 200 nm.The tiny change in polarity before and after binding with amyloid plaques leads to a transition from weakly emission charge-transfer(CT)state(Φ<0.04)to highly emissive locally-excited(LE)state(Φ=0.57),giving rise to a fluorescence Turn-On probe.Together with large Stokes'shift,good photostability and high depletion efficiency,the super-resolution imaging of the formation and morphology of amyloid fibrils in vitro based on this probe was realized with a lateral spatial resolution better than 33 nm at an extremely low depletion power.Moreover,the ex-vivo super-resolution imaging of(E)-1-butyl-4(2-(5-(9-ethyl-9Hcarbazol-3-yl)thiophen-2-yl)vinyl)pyridinium bromide(CTPB)probe in Aβ plaques in the brain slices of a Tg mouse was demonstrated.This research provides a demonstration of the super resolution imaging probe of amyloid fibrils based on polarity-response mechanism,providing a new approach to the development of future amyloid probes.

Layer-by-layer alloying of NIR-Ⅱ emissive M50(Au/Ag/Cu)superatomic nanocluster

The intermetallic synergy plays a critical role in exploring the chemical-physical properties of metal nanoclusters.However,the controlled doping or layer-by-layer alloying of atom-precise metal nanoclusters(NCs)has long been a challenging pursuit.In this work,two novel alloy nanoclusters[PPh_(4)]_(4)[Ag_(32)Cu_(18)(PFBT)_(36)]((AgCu)_(50))and[PPh_(4)]_(4)[Au_(12)Ag_(20)Cu_(18)(PFBT)_(36)](Au_(12)(AgCu)_(38)),where PFBT is pentafluorobenzenethiolate,with shell-by-shell configuration of M_(12)@Ag_(20)@Cu_(18)(PFBT)_(36)(M=Ag/Au)were synthesized by a facile one-pot co-reduction method.Notably,a fingerprint library of[Ag_(50)−xCux(PFBT)_(36)]^(4−)(x=0 to 50)from Ag_(50)to Cu_(50)has been successfully established as revealed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of trimetallic Au_(12)(AgCu)_(38)confirmed the layer-by-layer alloying under reducing conditions.What is more,(AgCu)_(50)and Au12(AgCu)_(38)both show broad photoluminescence(PL)peak in the second near-infrared(NIR-II)window,and the Au doping in the innermost shell considerably enhances the photoluminescence intensity.This work not only offers an insight in the process of metal cluster alloying but also provides a platform to study the doping-directed PL properties in the multimetallic cluster system.