AVS 65th International Symposium & Exhibition
    Actinides and Rare Earths Focus Topic Friday Sessions
       Session AC+MI+SA-FrM

Paper AC+MI+SA-FrM11
Perspectives on the Synthesis, Characterization and Applications of Upconversion and Downconversion Nanomaterials

Friday, October 26, 2018, 11:40 am, Room 202C

Session: Actinide and Rare Earth Theory and Related Measurements
Presenter: Martin Ntwaeaborwa, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Correspondent: Click to Email
Luminescent nanomaterials incorporating one or more active ions (usually lanthanides) have many uses today in applications such as information displays, light emitting diodes, theft prevention, advertising, medical imaging, photodynamic therapy and photovoltaic cells. In the past few decades, there has been an upsurge of research interest in the synthesis of luminescence down-conversion and up-conversion nanomaterials with different particle morphologies, and their characterization using different optical techniques. The use of lanthanide ions to convert photons either by down-conversion or up-conversion process to different and more useful wavelengths is an interesting research phenomenon for a wide range of applications. For example, the use of down-conversion and up-conversion nanomaterials to improve the power conversion efficiency of crystalline silicon solar cells and for treatment of tumour cells, respectively, have been demonstrated. While efficient down-conversion has been demonstrated from a combination of many rare-earths ions, the most efficient up-conversion has been demonstrated from only a few combination of rare-earths ions such as erbium (Er3+) – ytterbium (Yb3+), thulium (Tm3+) – Yb3+, and holium(Ho3+) – Yb3+ incorporated in different host lattices with low phonon energies. Different mechanisms of luminescence down-conversion and up-conversion will be discussed. In addition, a few selected methods used to synthesise luminescence down-conversion and up-conversion nanomaterials will be discussed.