Structural and optical investigation of colloidal Ln(3+)/Yb3+ co-doped KY3F10 nanocrystals

We report for the first time the synthesis of colloidal Ln(3+)/Yb3+ co-doped KY3F10 nanocrystals (L-n = Er or Eu) via thermal decomposition. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies indicated that the average size of the nanocrystals was approximately 15 nm. The nanocrystals crystallized in the cubic Fm (3) over barm space group as confirmed by Rietveld refinement of the X-ray powder diffraction patterns and by electron diffraction analysis. The Eu3+ ion was used as a spectroscopic probe and its emission spectrum in colloidal KY3F10 nanocrystals showed that the lanthanide ions replaces Y3+ in the lattice structure. When co-doped with Er3+/Yb3+, colloidal KY3F10 nanocrystals exhibited visible (green and red) upconversion emissions following 978 nm excitation with a near-infrared (NIR) diode laser. Power dependence studies indicated that a two-photon energy transfer upconversion process was responsible for the NIR-to-visible upconversion.