Multicolor
Barcoding in a Single Upconversion Crystal
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Abstract
We
report the synthesis of luminescent crystals based on hexagonal-phase
NaYF<sub>4</sub> upconversion microrods. The synthetic procedure involves
an epitaxial end-on growth of upconversion nanocrystals comprising
different lanthanide activators onto the NaYF<sub>4</sub> microrods.
This bottom-up method readily affords multicolor-banded crystals in
gram quantity by varying the composition of the activators. Importantly,
the end-on growth method using one-dimensional microrods as the template
enables facile multicolor tuning in a single crystal, which is inaccessible
in conventional upconversion nanoparticles. We demonstrate that these
novel materials offer opportunities as optical barcodes for anticounterfeiting
and multiplexed labeling applications