Abstract
An interfacial coordination nanoparticle successfully exhibited an upconversion blue emission excited by very low-power light irradiation, such as sunlight. The interfacial complex was composed of Yb ions and indigo dye, which formed a nano-ordered thin shell layer on a Tm2O3 nanoparticle. At the surface of the Tm2O3 particle, the indigo dye can be excited by non-laser excitation at 640 nm, following the intramolecular energy transfer from the indigo dye to the Yb ions. Additionally, the excitation energy of the Yb ion was upconverted to the blue emission of the Tm ion at 475 nm. This upconversion blue emission was achieved by excitation with a CW Xe lamp at an excitation power of 0.14 mW/cm2, which is significantly lower than the solar irradiation power of 1.4 mW/cm2 at 640 ± 5 nm.
Highlights
Upconversion materials have been recently shed light on their potential to convert low-energy photons into higher-energy photons
The elemental compositions of core/shell structured Tm/ Yb oxide nanoparticles were confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS)
We successfully developed a novel upconversion emission system composed of core/shell structured Yb/Tm oxide nanoparticles coordinated with indigo dyes
Summary
Upconversion materials have been recently shed light on their potential to convert low-energy photons into higher-energy photons. Under cloudy conditions and for use in emerging indoor applications in sensor technology, it is necessary to optimize solar cell performance in different spectral regions, especially in the near-infrared (NIR) region, and at low light intensities between 10−4 and 10−2 suns To address these issues, the conversion from low-energy photons to higher-energy photons, called photon upconversion, is a useful technique[2,3,4,5]. The interest in the color of indigo dyes dates back to the eighth century, for example, the ancient Maya and other civilizations in Mesoamerica employed a brilliant blue pigment called Maya blue, which consists of indigo dye stabilized in palygorskite clay[20] Such nanostructured organic–inorganic hybrid systems with intense colors and high durability have attracted increasing amounts of attention for novel functional materials in the fields of photonics, electronics, magnetics, and catalysis. From the perspective of solar energy use, most researchers have focused on the high absorption properties of indigo dye in the visible light wavelength region[21]
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