Fig. 4: Confirmation of hydrogen bond formation and resulting crystal-field-perturbation upon interstitial H+-doping. | Nature Communications

Fig. 4: Confirmation of hydrogen bond formation and resulting crystal-field-perturbation upon interstitial H+-doping.

From: Proof of crystal-field-perturbation-enhanced luminescence of lanthanide-doped nanocrystals through interstitial H+ doping

Fig. 4

a Schematic illustration of interstitial H+-doping of the NaMgF3:Yb/Er lattice to form stable hydrogen bonds (F–H⋯F) that result in crystal-field perturbation. b High-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) (F 1 s) profiles of NaMgF3:Yb/Er (NMF-H-X) nanocrystals (NCs) with different nominal acetic acid (HAc) additions (X = 0–14.7 mmol). The shift in peak position with increasing HAc addition demonstrates the formation of hydrogen bonds. c, d Crystal-field perturbations lead to limited changes in the bond lengths and bond angles within [ErF6]3− or [YbF6]3− (c) as well as significant changes in the differential charge density distribution (d). e Comparison of the 4F9/2 lifetime (τ) of the Er3+ emitters in the NMF-H-0 and NMF-H-3.1 NCs at 10 K. f Comparison of the typical absorption spectra of NMF-H-0, NMF-H-3.1, and NMF-H-14.7 NCs at 972 nm (2F7/2 → 2F5/2 transition of Yb3+). g Experimental (dots) and Fourier-transform fitting results (solid lines) of Yb LIII-edge EXAFS spectra of NMF-H-0, NMF-H-3.1, and NMF-H-14.7 NCs, confirming that the structure of the NaMgF3:Yb/Er NCs was essentially unchanged after H+-doping. RYb–F is the average Yb–F interatomic distance. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.

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