PREPARATION OF RED-EMITTING LUMINESCENT SIO2 NANOPARTICLES VIA SOAKING METHOD

Abstract

The application of lanthanide-doped silica nanoparticles as luminescent labels for biological imaging and detection has been increasingly studied due to the unique optical properties, low toxicity and resistance to photobleaching. However, a review of the recent literature has shown the need to develop a new environmentally friendly, easy-to-use method for the synthesis of lanthanide-doped silica nanoparticles, as a result of which the dopants will be uniformly distributed within the host matrix. In this thesis, we propose a facile soaking method for the synthesis of Eu (III) doped silica nanoparticles. Silica have been utilized as host materials thanks to the high biocompatibility, well-controlled morphology, porosity, and cost-effectiveness. Europium dopant has been selected as an excellent red-emitting activator. Successful preparation of Eu-doped silica nanoparticles has been verified by a range of characterization techniques. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that final Eu (III) doped silica nanoparticles have a size range of 68-105 nm. The EDX and PL analysis confirmed that Eu (III) ions were uniformly incorporated within the porous silica nanoparticles...