The impact of shell host (NaYF₄/CaF₂) and shell deposition methods on the up-conversion enhancement in Tb³⁺, Yb³⁺codoped colloidal α-NaYF₄core–shell nanoparticles

Abstract

Lanthanide doped, up-converting nanoparticles have found considerable interest as luminescent probes in the field of bio-detection. Although the nanoparticles (NPs) have already been successfully applied for fluorescent bio-imaging and bio-assays, the efficiency of the up-conversion process seems to be the bottle-neck in rigorous applications. In this work, we have shown enhancement of the up-conversion in colloidal α-NaYF₄:Yb(3+), Tb(3+) doped nanocrystals owing to passivation of their surface. We have studied quantitatively the influence of the shell type (NaYF₄ and CaF₂), its thickness, as well as the shell deposition method (i.e. single thick shell vs. multi-layer shell) on the luminescent properties of the nanoparticles. The results showed that up to 40-fold up-conversion intensity enhancement may be obtained for the core-shell nanoparticles in comparison with the bare core nanoparticles, irrespective of the shell type and deposition method. Moreover, the suitability of the NaYF₄:Yb(3+), Tb(3+) core-shell NPs for multi-color emission and spectral multiplexing has been presented.