TY - JOUR A1 - Bastian, Philipp U. A1 - Nacak, Selma A1 - Roddatis, Vladimir A1 - Kumke, Michael Uwe T1 - Tracking the motion of lanthanide ions within core-shell-shell NaYF4 nanocrystals via resonance energy transfer JF - The journal of physical chemistry : C N2 - Lanthanide resonance energy transfer (LRET) was used to investigate the motion of dopant ions during the synthesis of core-shell-shell-nanocrystals (NCs) that are frequently used as frequency upconversion materials. Reaction conditions (temperature, solvent) as well as lattice composition and precursors were adapted from a typical hydrothermal synthesis approach used to obtain upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs). Instead of adding the lanthanide ions Yb3+/Er3+ as the sensitizer/activator couple, Eu3+/Nd3+ as the donor/acceptor were added as the LRET pair to the outer shell (Eu-3) and the core (Nd-3). By tailoring the thickness of the insulation shell ("middle shell"), the expected distance between the donor and the acceptor was increased beyond 2 R-0, a distance for which no LRET is expected. The successful synthesis of core- shell-shell NCs with different thicknesses of the insulation layer was demonstrated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy measurement. The incorporation of the Eu3+ ions into the NaYF4 lattice was investigated by high-resolution time-resolved luminescence measurements. Two major Eu3+ species (bulk and surface) were found. This was supported by steady-state as well as time-resolved luminescence data. Based on the luminescence decay kinetics, the intermixing of lanthanides during synthesis of core- shell UCNPs was evaluated. The energy transfer between Eu3+ (donor) and Nd3+ (acceptor) ions was exploited to quantify the motion of the dopant ions. This investigation reveals the migration of Ln(3+) ions between different compatiments in core-shell NCs and affects the concept of using core-shell architectures to increase the efficiency of UCNPs. In order to obtain well-separated core and shell structures with different dopants, alternative concepts are needed. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c02588 SN - 1932-7447 SN - 1932-7455 VL - 124 IS - 20 SP - 11229 EP - 11238 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington, DC ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bastian, Philipp U. A1 - Robel, Nathalie A1 - Schmidt, Peter A1 - Schrumpf, Tim A1 - Günter, Christina A1 - Roddatis, Vladimir A1 - Kumke, Michael U. T1 - Resonance energy transfer to track the motion of lanthanide ions BT - what drives the intermixing in core-shell upconverting nanoparticles? JF - Biosensors : open access journal N2 - The imagination of clearly separated core-shell structures is already outdated by the fact, that the nanoparticle core-shell structures remain in terms of efficiency behind their respective bulk material due to intermixing between core and shell dopant ions. In order to optimize the photoluminescence of core-shell UCNP the intermixing should be as small as possible and therefore, key parameters of this process need to be identified. In the present work the Ln(III) ion migration in the host lattices NaYF4 and NaGdF4 was monitored. These investigations have been performed by laser spectroscopy with help of lanthanide resonance energy transfer (LRET) between Eu(III) as donor and Pr(III) or Nd(III) as acceptor. The LRET is evaluated based on the Forster theory. The findings corroborate the literature and point out the migration of ions in the host lattices. Based on the introduced LRET model, the acceptor concentration in the surrounding of one donor depends clearly on the design of the applied core-shell-shell nanoparticles. In general, thinner intermediate insulating shells lead to higher acceptor concentration, stronger quenching of the Eu(III) donor and subsequently stronger sensitization of the Pr(III) or the Nd(III) acceptors. The choice of the host lattice as well as of the synthesis temperature are parameters to be considered for the intermixing process. KW - upconversion nanoparticles KW - lanthanoid migration KW - lanthanides KW - core-shell KW - energy transfer Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/bios11120515 SN - 2079-6374 VL - 11 IS - 12 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER -