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Magnetic and optical properties of NaGdF4:Nd3+, Yb3+, Tm3+ nanocrystals with upconversion/downconversion luminescence from visible to the near-infrared second window

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Abstract

We have designed and synthesized NaGdF4:Nd3+, Yb3+, Tm3+ magnetic nanophosphors with combined dual-mode downconversion (DC) and upconversion (UC) photoluminescence upon 800 nm excitation. Hexagonal-phase NaGdF4:Nd3+, Yb3+, Tm3+ nanocrystals (NCs) with an average size of 21 nm were synthesized using a solvothermal approach. Nd3+, Yb3+, Tm3+ triple-doped NaGdF4 NCs exhibit a broad range of photoluminescence peaks covering a near infrared first/second window (860–900, 1,000, and 1,060 nm), and visible emission including blue (475 nm), green (520 and 542 nm) and yellow (587 nm) after excitation at 800 nm. A mechanism involving circulation of energy over Gd3+ sublattices as bridge ions and final trapping by the initial activator ions (Nd3+) has been proposed. Penetration depth studies indicate that NIR emission is easily detected even at a large tissue thickness of 10 mm. These paramagnetic nanophosphors demonstrate a large magnetization value of 1.88 emu/g at 20 kOe and longitudinal relaxivity value of 1.2537 mM−1·S−1 as a T 1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent. These NaGdF4:Nd3+, Yb3+, Tm3+ NCs are promising for applications in biological and magnetic resonance imaging.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, 79409, USA

    Xianwen Zhang & Jharna Chaudhuri

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, 79409, USA

    Xin Zhang & Brandon Weeks

  3. Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, 79409, USA

    David B. Cordes

  4. Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, China

    Zhi Zhao

  5. School of Information Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, China

    Bensheng Qiu

  6. EaStCHEM School of Chemistry, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, KY16 9ST, UK

    David B. Cordes

  7. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, 78249, USA

    Kailasnath Madanan & Dhiraj Sardar

  8. International School of Photonics, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi, 682022, India

    Kailasnath Madanan

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  1. Xianwen Zhang
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  3. Xin Zhang
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Correspondence to Jharna Chaudhuri.

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Zhang, X., Zhao, Z., Zhang, X. et al. Magnetic and optical properties of NaGdF4:Nd3+, Yb3+, Tm3+ nanocrystals with upconversion/downconversion luminescence from visible to the near-infrared second window. Nano Res. 8, 636–648 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-014-0548-2

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