The nanoscale core/shell heterostructure is a particularly efficient motif to combine the promising properties of plasmonic materials and rare-earth compounds; however, there remain significant challenges in the synth...The nanoscale core/shell heterostructure is a particularly efficient motif to combine the promising properties of plasmonic materials and rare-earth compounds; however, there remain significant challenges in the synthetic control due to the large interfacial energy between these two intrinsically unmatched materials. Herein, we report a synthetic route to grow rare-earth-vanadate shells on gold nanorod （AuNR） cores. After modifying the AuNR surface with oleate through a surfactant exchange, well-packaged rare-earth oxide （e.g., Gd2O3：Eu） shells are grown on AuNRs as a result of the multiple roles of oleate. Furthermore, the composition of the shell has been altered from oxide to vanadate （GdVO4：Eu） using an anion exchange method. Owing to the carefully designed strategy, the AuNR cores maintain the morphology during the synthesis process; thus, the final Au/GdVO4： Eu core/shell NRs exhibit strong absorption bands and high photothermal efficiency. In addition, the Au/GdVO4：Eu NRs exhibit bright Eu^3＋ fluorescence with quantum yield as high as -17%; bright Sm^3＋ and Dy^3＋ fluorescence can also be obtained by changing the lanthanide doping in the oxide formation. Owing to the attractive integration of the plasmonic and fluorescence properties, such core/shell heterostructures will find particular applications in a wide array of areas, from biomedicine to energy.展开更多
基金The authors thank Dr. Zhonghua Hao for technique help. The authors acknowledge financial support from the National Basic Research Program of China （No. 2011CB922201）, the National Natural Science Foundation of China （Nos. 51372175 and 11374236）, and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities （No. 2014202020203）.
文摘The nanoscale core/shell heterostructure is a particularly efficient motif to combine the promising properties of plasmonic materials and rare-earth compounds; however, there remain significant challenges in the synthetic control due to the large interfacial energy between these two intrinsically unmatched materials. Herein, we report a synthetic route to grow rare-earth-vanadate shells on gold nanorod （AuNR） cores. After modifying the AuNR surface with oleate through a surfactant exchange, well-packaged rare-earth oxide （e.g., Gd2O3：Eu） shells are grown on AuNRs as a result of the multiple roles of oleate. Furthermore, the composition of the shell has been altered from oxide to vanadate （GdVO4：Eu） using an anion exchange method. Owing to the carefully designed strategy, the AuNR cores maintain the morphology during the synthesis process; thus, the final Au/GdVO4： Eu core/shell NRs exhibit strong absorption bands and high photothermal efficiency. In addition, the Au/GdVO4：Eu NRs exhibit bright Eu^3＋ fluorescence with quantum yield as high as -17%; bright Sm^3＋ and Dy^3＋ fluorescence can also be obtained by changing the lanthanide doping in the oxide formation. Owing to the attractive integration of the plasmonic and fluorescence properties, such core/shell heterostructures will find particular applications in a wide array of areas, from biomedicine to energy.
