A comparative study of Er3+, Er3+-Eu3+, Er3+-Tb3+, and Er3+-Eu3+-Tb3+ Codoped Y2O3 nanoparticles as optical heaters

Abstract

Fluorescence intensity ratio (FIR) technique, based on the thermal coupling of H 11 / 2 2 and S 3 / 2 4 energy levels of erbium ions, was used to study the optical heating behavior of rare earth doped yttrium oxide nanophosphors (Y2O3:Er3+, Y2O3:Er3+-Eu3+, Y2O3:Er3+-Tb3+, and Y2O3:Er3+-Eu3+-Tb3+) synthesized via PVA-assisted sol-gel route. The samples were optically heated by an 800 nm CW diode laser, while the upconverted green emissions were used to measure their temperatures in real time. The experimental results indicate that the studied nanoparticles are promising candidates to applications such as photothermal treatments and hyperthermia.