One-step synthesis and upconversion luminescence properties of hierarchical In2O3:Yb3+,Er3+ nanorod flowers

In2O3:Yb3+,Er3+ nanorod flowers (NRFs) are prepared by a simple hydrothermal method, where sucrose was used as a ligand. The obtained In2O3:Yb3+,Er3+ NRFs were carefully characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), power X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and steady/transient spectroscopy. The dependence of the upconversion luminescence (UCL) of In2O3:Yb3+,Er3+ NRFs on morphology, Yb3+ concentration and excitation power was carefully discussed. It is found that the luminescence intensity ratio of the red emission to green emission (R/G) depended on the morphology and Yb3+ concentration, and the green emissions are dominantly resulting from a three-photon populating process with higher Yb3+ doping concentration. More importantly, the concentration quenching in the In2O3:Yb3+,Er3+ NRFs was greatly suppressed due to boundary effects, and is beneficial for lighting and photon energy conversion devices.