MONOCLE · Emission Control of Rare-Earth Nanoparticles

Emission Control of Rare-Earth Nanoparticles

Project MONOCLE (Logo 1) explores the optical properties of rare-earth doped nanoparticles (RENPs) envisioned to be used in various biomedical and technological applications. RENPs have a unique ability to convert invisible near-infrared light to visible colors via a process of upconversion. Such upconverting RENPs are researched for disease detection, drug delivery, and cell-level temperature sensing and are used as super-resolution optical probes. Successful implementation of these practices, though, depends on our ability to generate upconversion emissions effectively and controllably. It is challenging to maximize upconversion properties of RENPs because of a large number of variables that influence the final performance of RENPs. Compositionally, a vast space of explorable parameters is determined by the choice of nanocrystal host and rare-earth dopants, their concentrations, and placement within the nanocrystal (so-called core/shell engineering). Furthermore, the photoluminescence of RENPs is affected by the wavelength, power, and temporal modulations (pulsing) of laser excitation that, in turn, can serve as a means to control RENP emission deliberately. Thus, to effectively cover these parameter spaces and create application-targeted RENPs in a timely fashion, high-throughput numerical and experimental approaches have to be combined with the rational design of RENPs. This project aims to explore different RENP architectures, including highly nonlinear photon avalanching nanoparticles (ANPs) and their excitation pathways to aid in creating a set of specialized nanotools for future biomedical and technological applications. To reach different milestones of the project, numerical simulations, high-throughout robotic synthesis, and complete optical characterization are combined to create and investigate state-of-the-art RENPs. In turn, these approaches and guiding principles were successfully applied in the course of project MONOCLE, yielding 1) the synthesis method for a new class of host material for RENPs, 2) the development of a generalized approach to tune the color of photon avalanches and imprint photon avalanches on virtually any linear emitter, and 3) the discovery of an extremely nonlinear photoactivation dynamic that transforms ANPs into bistable ANPs - having two distinct steady-state responses under identical excitation conditions, contingent on the history of excitation intensity. These research accomplishments have been successfully published in the highest-impact chemical and physical journals and presented at international conferences, thus garnering interest and acclaim from the scientific community. The disseminated results are expected to impact and advance the fields of super-resolution imaging, sensing, and general-purpose optical data handling. Furthermore, this project had a valuable impact on the career development of the beneficiary, aiding in strengthening existing collaborations, forging new ones, and allowing to establish the beneficiary as an independent and goal-oriented researcher.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз