Inherently Eu2+/Eu3+ Codoped Sc2O3 Nanoparticles as High-Performance Nanothermometers

Luminescent nanothermometers have shown competitive superiority for contactless and noninvasive temperature probing especially at the nanoscale. Herein, we report the inherently Eu2+/Eu3+ codoped Sc2O3 nanoparticles synthesized via a one-step and controllable thermolysis reaction where Eu3+ is in-situ reduced to Eu2+ by oleylamine. The stable luminescence emission of Eu3+ as internal standard and the sensitive response of Eu2+ emission to temperature as probe comprise a perfect ratiometric nanothermometer with wide-range temperature probing (77-267 K), high repeatability (>99.94%), and high relative sensitivity (3.06% K-1 at 267 K). The in situ reduction of Eu3+ to Eu2+ ensures both uniform distribution in the crystal lattice and simultaneous response upon light excitation of Eu2+/Eu3+. To widen this concept, Tb3+ is codoped as additional internal reference for tunable temperature probing range.