| In this project, structural, luminescent and magnetic properties of multifunctional trivalent rare-earth ion (RE3+)-doped down- and up-converting nanoparticles with intrinsic magnetism and luminescence have been investigated. Syntheses, characterizations and surface modifications of multifunctional RE3+-doped nanoparticles have been carried out. All the multifunctional RE3+-doped down- and up-converting nanophosphors were synthesized using a facile hydrothermal method and a novel solution-based method. A variety of characterization techniques have been performed on the obtained phosphors, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), photoluminescent spectroscopy (PL), photoluminescent excitation spectroscopy (PLE), lifetime measurement, laser power measurement, vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), Raman spectroscopy and confocal microscopy.;An overview of the studies performed in this project is as follows. Different oxide and fluoride hosts have been synthesized and studied, including Gd 2O3, GdF3, YF3, NaYF4, and the seldom reported KGdF4. Different RE3+ ions have been doped into the above mentioned hosts for the realization of multifunctional nanoparticles with down- and up-conversion. For downconverting phosphors, Eu3+, Tb3+ and Tm3+ ions have been doped to obtain red, green, and blue emission. For upconverting phosphors, Tm3+/Yb3+ and Er3+/Yb 3+ ions have been doped to attain near-infrared to near-infrared and near-infrared to visible upconversion. The effects of hosts on the structural, luminescent and magnetic properties have been systemically studied. It is found that both hosts and dopants concentrations play a major role in determining the spectral features and the luminescent emission intensity. Particularly, nearly pure near-infrared to near-infrared upconversion is obtained in a specific GdF3 host. Characterizations of magnetic properties of these multifunctional RE3+-doped nanoparticles have been carried out, and the magnetisms are shown to be close to those nanoparticles used in magnetic bio-separation. Mechanisms elucidating the physical properties of the multifunctional RE 3+-doped nanoparticles have been investigated. Control of the particles morphology and relationships between the phase, particles sizes and emission intensity have been systemically studied. Different surface modifications have been performed for water dispersibility of the nanoparticles, which is essential for future biological applications. Preliminary cell imaging has been carried out utilizing the surface modified multifunctional RE 3+-doped nanoparticles. |
