Lanthanide-based inorganic-organic hybrid materials for photon-upconversion

: Muhammad Safdar, Amr Ghazy, Mika Lastusaari, Maarit Karppinen

Publisher: ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY

: 2020

: Journal of Materials Chemistry. C

: JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C

: J MATER CHEM C

: 8

: 21

: 6946

: 6965

: 20

: 2050-7526

: 2050-7534

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d0tc01216e

: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/48818257

Photon-upconversion materials are capable of converting low energy
infrared light into higher energy visible or ultraviolet light. Such
materials are demanded for applications such as deep-tissue imaging,
cancer therapy, nano-thermometry, biosensing, display and solar-cell
technologies, and beyond. Trivalent lanthanide ions are promising
materials for upconversion due to their suitable f-orbital energy levels
allowing absorption in the near-infrared and emission in the visible
wavelength range. The major obstacle in realizing the full potential of
the Ln-based upconverters is their characteristically small absorption
cross-sections. As many organic molecules possess much larger absorption
cross-sections, their combination with Ln³⁺
ions could bring about remarkable mutual benefits. Additionally, the
organic ligands can also function as spacers to yield metal–organic
framework type upconverting materials. Indeed, superior upconverting
properties have already been reported for a diverse family of Ln-based
inorganic–organic hybrids. Here we present an account of the recent
developments in the field of Ln-based inorganic–organic upconverting
materials and their emerging applications.

d0tc01216e.pdf