Down-shifting luminescence of water soluble NaYF_4:Eu^(3+)@Ag core-shell nanocrystals for fluorescence turn-on detection of glucose

Techniques for detecting glucose are developing at a breathtaking speed because diabetes mellitus can cause many serious complications, such as blindness, high blood pressure heart disease and kidney failure. Herein, water sol- uble NaYF4：Eu^3＋@Ag core-shell nanocrystals for glucose de- tection with lower detection limit have been successfully de- veloped, using NaYF4：Eu^3＋ cores as the energy donors and Ag shells as the efficient quenchers through energy transfer. After immobilization of glucose oxidase （GOx） on the sur- face of NaYF4：Eu^3＋@Ag core-shell nanocrystals, the Ag shells can be decomposed in the presence of glucose, accompanied by down-shifting luminescence recovery. The limit of detec- tion of NaYF4：Eu^3＋@Ag was 0.12 μmol L^-1. Therefore, the NaYF4：Eu^3＋@Ag can be easily extended to the detection of a variety of H2O2-involved analytes.

Confinement and antenna effect for ultrasmall Y_(2)O_(3):Eu^(3+) nanocrystals supported by MOF with enhanced near-UV light absorption thereby enhanced luminescence and excellently multifunctional applications

A novel host-guest luminous system with enhanced near-UV light absorption thereby enhanced luminescence are designed based on the synergism of quantum confinement,spatial confinement,and antenna effect,where ultrasmall Y_(2)O_(3):Eu^(3+)nanocrystals are fixed inside MOF(Eu/Y-BTC)as supporting structure.The Eu/Y-BTC not only limits the size and leads to lattice distortion of Y_(2)O_(3):Eu^(3+)nanocrystals and controls the distance between nanocrystals,but also promotes the light absorption and emission.The significantly red-shifted and broadened charge transfer band of Y_(2)O_(3):Eu^(3+)/(Eu/Y-BTC)leads to the excellent applications of Y_(2)O_(3):Eu^(3+)in white light-emitting diodes(LEDs).Our results show that white light with superior color quality(CRI>90)and extremely high luminous efficacy(an LER of 335 lm/W)could be achieved using Y_(2)O_(3):Eu^(3+)/(Eu/Y-BTC)as red phosphor.The Y_(2)O_(3):Eu^(3+)/(Eu/Y-BTC)also improves the photoelectric performance of dye-sensitized solar cells(DSSCs),not only because Y_(2)O_(3):Eu^(3+)/(Eu/Y-BTC)has a large specific surface area and the adsorption amount of the dye is increased,but also because the valence band position of Y_(2)O_(3):Eu^(3+)/(Eu/Y-BTC)is 2.41 eV,which can provide an additional energy level between the TiO2 and dye,promoting electron transfer.For these advantageous features,the multifunctional Y_(2)O_(3):Eu^(3+)/(Eu/Y-BTC)composite product will open new avenues in white LEDs and DSSCs.

Synthesis and fluorescence properties of CdTe:Eu3+ nanocrystals and core-shell SiO2-coated CdTe:Eu3+ nanospheres

Eu3+ doped-CdTe(CdTe:Eu3+)nanocrystals were prepared via a facile hydrothermal method,and Eu3+ was successfully incorporated into the crystal lattice of CdTe and measured by X-ray powder diffraction(XRD),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),ultraviolet-visible(UV-Vis) absorption spectroscopy and fluorescence emission.The CdTe:Eu^3+ nanocrystals still have a cubic crystal structure,and the corresponding XRD peaks of CdTe:Eu3+nanocrystals shift to larger angles compared with those of pure CdTe.The CdTe:Eu3+ nanocrystals are monodisperse and the particles size is about 2-4 nm.Compared with pure CdTe,the CdTe:Eu^3+ nanocrystals have larger band gap and thus exhibit blueshift in the emission spectra,which could be accounted for by the energy transfer between Eu^3+ and CdTe.To enhance the stability and functionality of CdTe:Eu3+nanocrystals,the CdTe:Eu3+nanocrystals were coated with SiO2 and the core-shell SiO2-coated CdTe:Eu3+nanocrystals(CdTe:Eu^3+@SiO2) were prepared via microemulsion method.TEM results show that CdTe:Eu3+nanocrystals are uniformly dispersed in the shell,and CdTe:Eu3+@SiO2 nanospheres are uniformly spherical with an average diameter of about 75 nm.The fluorescence emission of CdTe:Eu3+@SiO2(567 nm) shows a blueshift compared with that of CdTe:Eu^3+nanocrystals(632 nm),possibly because of altered surface properties after SiO2 coating.CdTe:Eu^3+and CdTe:Eu^3+@SiO2 with tunable photoluminescence are potentially useful in fabricating optical and bioimaging devices.

Luminescent properties of praseodymium doped Y_2O_3 and LaAlO_3 nanocrystallites and polymer composites

Luminescent properties of Y2O3 and LaAlO3 nanopowders doped with Pr^3＋ ions and PMMA-based composite materials doped with these powders were reported. The set of active nanopowders differing in praseodymium ions concentration was prepared using sol-gel method and carefully characterized with respect to emission properties in the visible spectral range. In particular, the excitation and emission spectra were measured together with fluorescence decay profiles and the differences between optical properties of these materials were discussed and compared with data available for bulk materials. Finally, the PMMA-based composite materials doped with Pr^3＋：Y2O3 and Pr^3＋：LaAlO3 nanopowders were manufactured and characterized. The obtained results showed that polymer composites doped with active nanopowders in general tended to keep the luminescent properties of the original nanopowders.

Luminescent properties of dysprosium(III) ions in LaAlO_3 nanocrystallites

The absorption and emission spectra as well as decay time profile of Dy^3＋ ions in LaAlO3 nanocrystals were analyzed. The crystal structure of LaAlO3 was confirmed from XRD measurement. The emission peaks from blue to red came from main emitting level of dysprosium ^4F9/2 to the ground and other excited levels of Dy^3＋ ions. Cross relaxation process led to non-radiative quenching of luminescence, so that the lifetime of the ^4F9/2 energy level ions decreased with increasing amount of doped Dy^3＋ ions. The cross relaxation transfer rates were experimentally determined as a fimction of Dy^3＋ concentration.