Strategy for thermometry via Tm³⁺-doped NaYF₄ core-shell nanoparticles.

Optical thermometers usually make use of the fluorescence intensity ratio of two thermally coupled energy levels, with the relative sensitivity constrained by the limited energy gap. Here we develop a strategy by using the upconversion (UC) emissions originating from two multiplets with opposite temperature dependences to achieve higher relative temperature sensitivity. We show that the intensity ratio of the two UC emissions, F32,3 and G14, of Tm3+ in β-NaYF4:20%Yb3+, 0.5%Tm3+/NaYF4:1%Pr3+ core-shell nanoparticles under 980 nm laser excitation exhibits high relative temperature sensitivity between 350 and 510 K, with a maximum of 1.53%  K−1 at 417 K. This demonstrates the validity of the strategy, and that the studied material has the potential for high-performance optical thermometry.