Near-infrared (NIR)-to-visible up-conversion fluorescent nanoparticles have potential to be used for photodynamic therapy (PDT) in deep tissue because NIR light can penetrate thick tissue due to weak absorption in the optical window. Here a uniform layer of mesoporous silica is coated onto NaYF(4) up-converting nanocrystals, with a large surface area of approximately 770 m(2) g(-1) and an average pore size of 2 nm. A photosensitizer, zinc phthalocyanine, is incorporated into the mesoporous silica. Upon excitation by a NIR laser, the nanocrystals convert NIR light to visible light, which further activates the photosensitizer to release reactive singlet oxygen to kill cancer cells. The photosensitizer encapsulated in mesoporous silica is protected from degradation in the harsh biological environment. It is demonstrated that the photosensitizers loaded into the porous silica shell of the nanoparticles are not released out of the silica while they continuously produce singlet oxygen upon excitation by a NIR laser. The nanoparticles are reusable as the photosensitizers encapsulated in the silica are removed by soaking in ethanol.

Hexagonal-phase core-shell-structured NaYF 4:Yb,Tm@beta-NaYF 4:Yb,Er and beta-NaYF 4:Yb,Tm@beta-NaYF 4:Yb,Er@beta-NaYF 4:Yb,Tm nanocrystals were synthesized by a seeded growth approach. beta-NaYF 4:Yb,Tm nanocrystals with 20 nm diameter were used as seed crystals to induce the growth of beta-NaYF 4:Yb,Er and then beta-NaYF 4:Yb,Tm crystals, resulting in the formation of core-shell-structured nanocrystals with upconverting lanthanide ions Tm and Er doped in the core and shell, respectively.

Large-scale selective synthesis of uniform single crystalline tellurium nanowires with a diameter of 4-9 nm, and microbelts with a width of 250-800 nm and tens of micrometers in length, can be realized by a poly (vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP)-assisted hydrothermal process. The formation of tellurium nanowires and nanobelts in the presence of PVP is strongly dependent on the reaction conditions such as temperature, the amount of PVP, and reaction time. The results demonstrated that the keys for selective synthesis of Te nanobelts and nanowires are to modulate the growth rates of (100), (101), and (110) planes in the presence of PVP and to precisely control the reaction kinetics. High-quality luminescent ultrathin t-Te nanowires with a diameter of 4-9 nm display strong luminescent emission in the blue-violet region. This approach provides a facile route for the production of high-quality tellurium nanostructures with an interesting optical property. Furthermore, the synthesized ultrathin nanowires with deep blue color and nanobelts in gray color by this approach can be well dispersed in water or ethanol, making it possible for further engineering of their surfaces to prepare other hybrid core-shell nanostructures.

All-inorganic cesium lead-halide perovskite nanocrystals have emerged as attractive optoelectronic nanomaterials owing to their stabilities and highly efficient photoluminescence. Herein we report a new type of highly luminescent perovskite-related CsPb2 Br5 nanoplatelets synthesized by a facile precipitation reaction. The layered crystal structure of CsPb2 Br5 promoted an anisotropic two-dimensional (2D) crystal growth during the precipitation process, thus enabling the large-scale synthesis of CsPb2 Br5 nanoplatelets. Fast anion exchange has also been demonstrated in as-synthesized CsPb2 Br5 nanoplatelets to extend their photoluminescence spectra to the entire visible spectral region. The large-scale synthesis and optical tunability of CsPb2 Br5 nanoplatelets will be advantageous in future applications of optoelectronic devices.