Up-Conversion Luminescence Properties of Lanthanide-Gold Hybrid Nanoparticles as Analyzed with Discrete Dipole Approximation

Up-conversion nanoparticles (UCNP) under near-infrared (NIR) light irradiation have been well investigated in the field of bio-imaging. However, the low up-conversion luminescence (UCL) intensity limits applications. Plasmatic modulation has been proposed as an effective tool to adjust the luminescence intensity and lifetime. In this study discrete dipole approximation (DDA) was explored concerning guiding the design of UCNP@mSiO2-Au structures with enhanced UCL intensity. The extinction effects of gold shells could be changed by adjusting the distance between the UCNPs and the Au NPs by synthesized tunable mesoporous silica (mSiO2) spacers. Enhanced UCL was obtained under 808 nm irradiation. Theoretical predictions could not be demonstrated to full extend by experimental data, indicating that better models for simulation need to better take into account inhomogeneities in particle morphologies.