Solvothermal synthesis of CeO2:Er/Yb nanorods and upconversion luminescence characterization

CeO2:Er/Yb nanorods as upconversion materials were successfully synthesized by solvothermal method. The structures and morphologies of the CeO2:Er/Yb nanorods were characterized by XRD, SEM, HRTEM. The nanorods emitted two kinds of visible lights: the green (2H11/2, 4S3/2 ⟶ 4I15/2) and the red (4F9/2 ⟶ 4I15/2), under excitation with a continuous wave laser in the near-infrared at 980 nm at room temperature. The mechanism of different emissions was explored involving excited-state absorption (ESA) and energy transfer (ET) upconversion.