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  • Review Article
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Future and challenges for hybrid upconversion nanosystems

Abstract

To improve the efficiency of photon upconversion, a hybrid approach of combining organic dyes and inorganic nanoparticles is proving successful, especially in the form of dye-sensitized lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles, nanoparticle-sensitized molecular triplet–triplet annihilation systems and metal–organic-framework nanoparticles. In this Review, we survey the latest advances and examine the key factors affecting upconversion performance, such as spectral overlap, core–shell design and the management of triplet excitons and quenchers at the interface between materials. Although issues such as stability, triplet-state quenching, concentration quenching and reabsorption must still be overcome, smart designs of hybrid nanosystems offer exciting opportunities for applications such as solar photovoltaic devices, deep-tissue biomedical imaging, optogenetics and nanomedicine among others.

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Fig. 1: Energy transfer at the interface of organic–inorganic hybrid nanosystems.
Fig. 2: Creation of intermediate energy level to bridge energy gaps and increase spectral overlap.
Fig. 3: Tuning the D–A distance to enhance the upconversion efficiency.
Fig. 4: Quenching management in a hybrid system for effective upconversion.
Fig. 5: MOF-based TTA upconversion system.

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Acknowledgements

This project is primarily supported by Australia-China Joint Research Centre for Point-of-Care Testing (ACSRF65827, SQ2017YFGH001190), ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award Scheme (J.Z., DE180100669), Science and Technology Innovation Commission of Shenzhen (KQTD20170810110913065), National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, 61729501, 51720105015), ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science (T.S., CE170100026), Global Research Laboratory (GRL) Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (no. 2016911815), KRICT (KK1933-10, SKO1930-20), and the Industrial Strategic Technology Development Program (no. 10077582) funded by the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE), Korea.

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Correspondence to P. James Schuck, Yung Doug Suh, Timothy W. Schmidt or Dayong Jin.

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Wen, S., Zhou, J., Schuck, P.J. et al. Future and challenges for hybrid upconversion nanosystems. Nat. Photonics 13, 828–838 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-019-0528-x

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