Upconversion Luminescence Properties of NaY0.92Yb0.05Er0.03F4 Enhanced by Zr4+ Codoping

In this paper we present a novel report on the upconversion luminescence performance of NaY0.92Yb0.05Er0.03F4 enhanced by Zr4+ codoping. The luminescence intensity of the tridoped hexagonal NaYF4 synthesized by a hydrothermal method increased to the maximum, about seven times of the non-Zr4+ sample when the Zr4+ codoping concentration rose to 6mol%, while the luminescence lifetime was also prolonged by Zr4+ codoping. To explore the relationships between the microstructure and upconversion properties, X-ray powder diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscope, electron energy-dispersive spectroscopy and upconversion emission spectroscopy were employed. From these characterizations, we found that the codoping of Zr4+ could modulate the crystal microstructure of NaYF4 for higher upconversion luminescence intensity and longer lifetime. This study may be helpful for the design and synthesis of high-performance upconversion materials.