Site-Isolated Upconversion Nanoparticle Arrays Synthesized in Polyol Nanoreactors

David D. Xu, Carolin B. Wahl, Jingshan S. Du, Shawn Irgen-Gioro, Emily A. Weiss*, Chad A. Mirkin*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

A versatile approach for synthesizing Yb3+- and Er3+-doped NaYF4 upconversion nanoparticle (UCNP) arrays is presented. The nanoparticles are positioned at precisely defined locations through the tip-directed deposition of polyol nanoreactors and subsequent thermal conversion. This method is based on conducting a solution-phase polyol synthesis in nanometer-scale reactors, which provide isolated and confined reaction vessels for the thermal decomposition of a fluoride precursor and the coarsening of fluoride nanoparticles. When the nanoreactors are annealed at 350 °C, the polyol degrades, and the nanoparticles, which exhibit upconversion properties, crystallize. Single nanoparticles are attained in each nanoreactor by tuning the precursor concentration, nanoreactor size, and temperature ramping rate. This strategy enhances the scope of nanostructures that can be synthesized by tip-directed routes and, when combined with massively parallel pen approaches such as polymer pen lithography, provides a generalizable platform for the high-throughput synthesis, screening, and discovery of nanomaterials for photonics and other applications.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)26125-26131
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry C
Volume125
Issue number47
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2 2021

Funding

The work was supported by the Sherman Fairchild Foundation, Inc. (material synthesis and electron microscopy characterization) and also the Center for Bio-Inspired Energy Science, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, under Award DE-SC0000989 (optical characterization). This work made use of the IMSERC Crystallography facility at Northwestern University, which has received support from the Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource (NSF ECCS-2025633), and Northwestern University. This work made use of the EPIC and BioCryo facilities of Northwestern University’s NUANCE Center, which has received support from the SHyNE Resource; the MRSEC program (NSF DMR-1720139) at the Materials Research Center; the International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN); the Keck Foundation; and the State of Illinois, through the IIN.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • General Energy
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Surfaces, Coatings and Films

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