Construction of NaYF4 Library for Morphology-Controlled Multimodality Applications

Morphology and size of the nanoparticles are highly related to the properties; establishing a library to summarize the relationship between the morphology/size and property is very helpful for associated applications. However, the NaYF4 library and thus the correlation between the morphology and property are still absent. Here NaYF4 library is presented and their morphologies and structures are illustrated at atomic scale for the first time. How about the crystal formation affects the morphology is further used to guide the property. Through rational doping, upconversion luminescence, magnetic resonance (MR) and computed tomography are investigated with the nanoprisms, nanoflowers, and nanoplates as models to reveal the effect of the size and morphology. The difference of the properties provides strong evidence on the importance of the library. In particular, the imperfect structure of nanoflower is observed on atomic scale and enhances the MR response. The different upconversion intensity ratio for the emissions at 475 and 693 nm is observed from doped NaYF4 with different morphology. Thus, controllable fabrication of NaYF4 with desired morphology is indispensable to achieve the optimal properties as the guidance on how to choose matrix from the library to meet the specific applications.

Automated summary

The morphology and size of nanoparticles play a crucial role in determining their properties, as shown by the establishment of a library to summarize this relationship. The NaYF4 library presented in this study sheds light on the correlation between morphology and property, providing insights into the importance of structure in achieving optimal properties for specific applications.