Self-calibrating optic thermometer based on dual-emission nanocomposite

A new approach to optical thermometers with high sensitivity was developed herein by using In2O3 quantum dots (QDs) emission as temperature detecting signal and Eu3+ ions emission as reference one. Originated from the diverse thermal quenching behavior between the defect-related emission of In2O3 QDs and 4f-4f transitions of Eu3+ ions, fluorescence intensity ratio of In2O3 to Eu3+ in nanocomposite exhibited excellent temperature sensing property in the range from 303 K to 543 K. The maximum absolute and relative temperature sensitivity can reach as high as 4.43 x 10(-2) K-1 and 0.89% K-1, respectively. We believe that this work exploits an effective pathway for developing other innovative optical thermometers. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.