Intense single-band red upconversion luminescence of Er3+/Yb3+ codoped BiOCl nanocrystals via a facile solvothermal strategy

Lanthanide doped BiOCl phosphors have recently emerged as a new type of upconversion (UC) host material due to their distinct crystal structure and tailorable UC emissions. However, the modulated single-band red UC luminescence through host size manipulation has not been well explored. In this work, we reported a facile solvothermal strategy to obtain the single-band red UC emission in BiOCl: Yb3+/Er3+ nanocrystals. It shows that just by changing the ethanol amount in the mixed solvent, the intense and pure red UC luminescence of Er3+ ion can be achieved at the same time. The possible reason for the single-band red UC emission and the dependence of UC luminescence intensity on the nanosheet size are proposed and discussed. The results of this work can provide an effective route to control the UC emission of Ln(3+) doped layered materials, which might be widely applied in the areas of color displays and biological imaging.

Automated summary

This study achieved single-band red upconversion emission through a solvothermal strategy and explored the influence of host size modulation on the upconversion luminescence intensity. These findings are significant for controlling upconversion emission in Ln(3+) doped layered materials.