A facile hydrothermal synthesis of highly luminescent NaYF4:Yb3+/Er3+ upconversion nanoparticles and their biomonitoring capability

Abstract

Using a facile hydrothermal procedure, hydrophilic NaYF₄: Yb³⁺/Er³⁺ nanoparticles (NPs) have been prepared as lanthanide-doped upconversion (UC) materials exhibiting different morphologies, crystal phases and luminescence intensity. The upconversion nanoparticles (UCNP) were characterized by means of electron microscopy and spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and photoluminescence analysis. The molar concentration of reactants and volumes of NaF affect the shapes and uniformity of the synthesized NPs. These parameters also have influence on crystal phase and luminescence intensity of the NPs. Adjusting hydrothermal reaction time and dopant concentration also enable the synthesis of NPs with strong UC luminescence. The as-prepared UCNP showed cellular nontoxicity to HeLa cells, and thus they are capable as promising agents for biological imaging.

Keywords: Bioimaging; NaYF(4):Yb(3+)/Er(3+); Synthesis optimization; Upconversion luminescence.