Ambient Large-Scale Template-Mediated Synthesis of High-Aspect Ratio Single-Crystalline, Chemically Doped Rare-Earth Phosphate Nanowires for Bioimaging

A simple and effective template-mediated protocol has been developed for the large-scale, roomtemperature preparation of high-aspect-ratio, single-crystalline Tb-doped CePO4 nanowires, measuring similar to 12 nm in diameter and over 10 mu m in length. Moreover, we also isolated sheaf-like bundles of nanostructures. The synthesis mechanism likely involved a crystal splitting step. The resulting nanowires demonstrated an intense redox-sensitive green photoluminescence, which was exploited, in addition to their inherently high biocompatibility and low toxicity, for potential applications in biological imaging and labeling of cells.