Pr3+-doped nanoscintillators with concentration-quenching-free properties

Lin Zhang; Yantao Li; Huiru Ye; Lei Zhao; Qingwei Song; Weidong Du; Xukai Chen; Wei Wei

doi:10.1039/d2cc06555j

Pr³⁺-doped nanoscintillators with concentration-quenching-free properties

Chem Commun (Camb). 2023 Apr 25;59(34):5118-5121. doi: 10.1039/d2cc06555j.

Authors

Lin Zhang¹, Yantao Li¹, Huiru Ye¹, Lei Zhao¹, Qingwei Song¹, Weidong Du¹, Xukai Chen¹, Wei Wei¹

Affiliation

¹ MOE & Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Laser Life Science, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Spectral Analysis and Functional Probes, College of Biophotonics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China. weiwei@scnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37039334
DOI: 10.1039/d2cc06555j

Abstract

Luminescence concentration quenching exists widely in lanthanide-doped luminescent nanomaterials, and significantly hinders their emission intensity. In this work, we report the concentration-quenching-free properties of the 406 nm emission in Pr³⁺-doped nanoscintillators, which is attributed to the large energy gap between the ¹S₀ and ¹I₆ states (ΔE = ∼25 000 cm^-1) of Pr³⁺ ions, preventing the concentration quenching effects caused by both cross-relaxation and energy migration to surface quenchers. This work provides further understanding about the concentration quenching effect of lanthanide-doped luminescent nanomaterials and a new perspective for avoiding detrimental concentration quenching. In addition, we also demonstrate the potential use of Pr³⁺-doped nanoscintillators as anti-counterfeiting materials.