Monitoring of the luminescence properties of the upconversion YVO4:Yb, Er nanoparticles during preparation processes

We have fabricated the upconversion nanoparticles (NPs), which are nanocrystallites of 10 nm, doped with Yb3+ and Er3+ ions, prepared through hydrothermal method. Monitoring of their photophysical properties had been realized at different fabrication stages by using electron microscopy and luminescence spectroscopy under photoexcitation of the NPs with the 100 mW laser at 980 nm wavelength. The performed monitoring allows us to observe dramatic changes in the upconversion properties of the NPs during the sequence of the fabrication stages and revealed very strong correlation between the NPs' upconversion efficiency and their structural specificities.