Efficient manganese luminescence induced by Ce(3+)-Mn(2+ )energy transfer in rare earth fluoride and phosphate nanocrystals

Manganese materials with attractive optical properties have been proposed for applications in such areas as photonics, light-emitting diodes, and bioimaging. In this paper, we have demonstrated multicolor Mn(2+ )luminescence in the visible region by controlling Ce(3+)-Mn(2+ )energy transfer in rare earth nanocrystals [NCs]. CeF(3 )and CePO(4 )NCs doped with Mn(2+ )have been prepared and can be well dispersed in aqueous solutions. Under ultraviolet light excitation, both the CeF(3):Mn and CePO(4):Mn NCs exhibit Mn(2+ )luminescence, yet their output colors are green and orange, respectively. By optimizing Mn(2+ )doping concentrations, Mn(2+ )luminescence quantum efficiency and Ce(3+)-Mn(2+ )energy transfer efficiency can respectively reach 14% and 60% in the CeF(3):Mn NCs.