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Synthesis of dual-emission Ag- and Mn-codoped Zn-In-S nanocrystals and their optical radiometric temperature sensors

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Abstract

In this work, a facile approach to synthesize the Ag- and Mn-codoped Zn-In-S nanocrystals (NCs) with dual emissions as ratiometric temperature sensors is reported. The as-synthesized codoped Zn-In-S NCs have a uniform size distribution and exhibit a zinc blende ZnS phase structure. Moreover, the as-produced codoped NCs show dual emission peaks which center at green and orange-red regions and have a photoluminescence quantum yield (PL QY) up to 45%. The time-resolved PL spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterizations reveal that the dual emissions of these NCs are derived from the intrinsic emission of Ag+ and Mn2+, respectively. Moreover, the relative intensity ratio of dual emissions can be tailored by adjusting the Ag and Mn doping concentrations. The as-built ratiometric temperature sensors based on the codoped NCs exhibit a thermometric sensitivity of ~ 0.17% K-1 over a broad window of 80–200 K, suggesting that these codoped Zn-In-S NCs are promisingly used for bio-optical ratiometric temperature sensing.

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Funding

This work was financed by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51902064) and the special fund of “Guangxi Bagui Scholar.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center on Nanoenergy Research, School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, Guangxi, P. R. China

    Sheng Cao, Jialong Zhao & Bingsuo Zou

  2. Guangxi Key Laboratory of Processing for Non-ferrous Metals and Featured Materials, Nanning, 530004, Guangxi, P. R. China

    Sheng Cao, Jialong Zhao & Bingsuo Zou

  3. School of Material Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639798, Singapore

    Chencheng Dai

Authors
  1. Sheng Cao
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  2. Chencheng Dai
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  3. Jialong Zhao
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  4. Bingsuo Zou
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Correspondence to Sheng Cao or Bingsuo Zou.

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Guest Editor: Xiaoshan (Sean) Zhu

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This article is part of the topical collection Nanoparticles in Biotechnology and Medicine

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Cao, S., Dai, C., Zhao, J. et al. Synthesis of dual-emission Ag- and Mn-codoped Zn-In-S nanocrystals and their optical radiometric temperature sensors. J Nanopart Res 21, 242 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-019-4695-y

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