Publication in J. Materials Chemistry C

Publication in Journal of Materials Chemistry C

"Novel up-conversion luminescent rare-earth-doped organic resins for cost-effective applications in 3D photonic devices"

J. Mater. Chem. C, vol 2, p 2944 (2014), DOI: 10.1039/C3TC32476A

J.C. Ruiz-Morales, J. Méndez-Ramos, P. Acosta-Mora, M. E. Borges, P. Esparza

 

Abstract

Up-conversion luminescent materials have emerged recently for the improvement of the photocatalytic
activity of semiconductor electrodes, such as TiO2 and Fe2O3, used for the sustainable production of
hydrogen via water-splitting. Here we present novel up-conversion luminescent organic resins doped
with heavy rare-earth ions, which are used as constructive elements in the 3D technique, that open a
fully unexplored path for the development of cost-effective, room-temperature and endlessly shaped 3D photonic structures, avoiding the technical difficulties of glass melting or crystal growth when used asrare-earth hosts. Moreover, these synthesized resins also present outstanding UV-Vis up-conversion
luminescence of Er3+ and Tm3+ ions sensitized by Yb3+ ions under near-infrared excitation at 980 nm, and have been extensively analyzed as a function of the doping concentration. Furthermore, the increase in the Yb3+ to Er3+ and Tm3+ ratio results in a notable enhancement of the UV-blue high energetic emission bands, allowing the tailoring of the overall up-conversion luminescence to match the different band-gaps of selected photocatalysts.