Enhancing upconversion of Nd3+ through Yb3+-mediated energy cycling towards temperature sensing

Abstract Photon upconversion of lanthanides has been a powerful means to convert low-energy photons into high-energy ones. However, in contrast to the mostly investigated lanthanide ions, it has remained a challenge for the efficient upconversion of Nd3+ due to the deleterious concentration quenching effect. Here we report an efficient strategy to enhance the upconversion of Nd3+ through the Yb3+-mediated energy cycling in a core-shell-shell nanostructure. Both Nd3+ and Yb3+ are confined in the interlayer, and the presence of Yb3+ in the Nd-sublattice provides a more matched energy for the upconversion transitions occurring at the intermediate state of Nd3+ towards much better population at its emissive levels. Moreover, this design also minimizes the possible cross-relaxation processes at both intermediate level and the emissive levels of Nd3+ which are the primary factors limiting the upconversion performance for the Nd3+-doped materials. Such energy cycling-enhanced upconversion shows promise in temperature sensing.