Abstract
Red, green, blue, and natural white upconversion (UC) luminescence colors are realized from the tetragonal-structured LiGdF4-based core/triple-shell (C/T-S) upconversion nanophosphors (UCNPs) and the C/T-S UCNP-incorporated polymer composites. The LiYF4:Yb cores are used as sensitized seeds for the formation of LiGdF4:Yb,Tm UC shell followed by the growth of LiGdF4:Tb,Eu color tuning shell. Finally, LiYF4 inert shell is grown on the core/shell/shell UCNPs, and LiYF4:Yb/LiGdF4:Yb,Tm/LiGdF4:Tb,Eu/LiYF4 C/T-S UCNPs exhibit enhanced UC luminescence. The single tetragonal-phased C/T-S UCNPs exhibit blue, green, and red UC luminescence, which is attributed to the electronic transitions in Tm3+ via energy transfer UC process and Tb3+ and Eu3+ via energy migration UC process, respectively. The multicolor UC emissions, including natural white, medium aquamarine, purple, and thistle color, are created by fine-tuning of the ratio of Tb3+ and Eu3+ in the color tuning shell. The transparent polymer composites are prepared by incorporating the C/T-S UCNPs into polydimethylsiloxane, and the polymer composites also exhibit red, green, blue, and natural white light UC emissions, indicating that these multicolor tunable LiYF4:Yb/LiGdF4:Yb,Tm/LiGdF4:Tb,Eu/LiYF4 C/T-S UCNPs have potential to be applied to transparent volumetric displays.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 8457-8464 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Chemistry of Materials |
Volume | 30 |
Issue number | 23 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2018 Dec 11 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (NRF-2018R1A2B5A03023239), Future Key Technology Program (project no. 2E28020) by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, and a grant from the Bio and Medical Technology Development Programs (NRF-2016M3A9B6902060) through the Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2018 American Chemical Society.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Chemistry
- General Chemical Engineering
- Materials Chemistry