Synthesis-driven, structure-dependent optical behavior in phase-tunable NaYF4:Yb,Er-based motifs and associated heterostructures

Abstract

Understanding the key parameters necessary for generating uniform Er,Yb co-activated NaYF₄ possessing various selected phases (i.e. cubic or hexagonal) represents an important chemical strategy towards tailoring optical behavior in these systems. Herein, we report on a straightforward hydrothermal synthesis in which the separate effects of reaction temperature, reaction time, and precursor stoichiometry in the absence of any surfactant were independently investigated. Interestingly, the presence and the concentration of NH₄OH appear to be the most critical determinants of the phase and morphology. For example, with NH₄OH as an additive, we have observed the formation of novel hierarchical nanowire bundles which possess overall lengths of ∼5 μm and widths of ∼1.5 μm but are composed of constituent component sub-units of long, ultrathin (∼5 nm) nanowires. These motifs have yet to be reported as distinctive morphological manifestations of fluoride materials. The optical properties of as-generated structures have also been carefully analyzed. Specifically, we have observed tunable, structure-dependent energy transfer behavior associated with the formation of a unique class of NaYF₄–CdSe quantum dot (QD) heterostructures, incorporating zero-dimensional (0D), one-dimensional (1D), and three-dimensional (3D) NaYF₄ structures. Our results have demonstrated the key roles of the intrinsic morphology-specific physical surface area and porosity as factors in governing the resulting opto-electronic behavior. Specifically, the trend in energy transfer efficiency correlates well with the corresponding QD loading within these heterostructures, thereby implying that the efficiency of FRET appears to be directly affected by the amount of QDs immobilized onto the external surfaces of the underlying fluoride host materials.