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Achieving efficient violet, yellow, and red emission in a single robust, scalable host is challenging. The authors achieve this by constructing Gd³⁺-mediated cluster traps in alkaline-earth fluorochlorides to reduce energy loss during electron migration.

When you have discovered something unusual, trust your instinct and pursue it with determination and enthusiasm, says Renren Deng.

Nonlinear optical upconversion processes in nanoparticles, which convert long-wavelength light into short-wavelength emission, are promising for applications such as biological imaging, optical data storage and others. The flexible tuning of upconversion properties in core–shell nanoparticles now offers unprecedented control over the nonlinear optical properties of the nanoparticles.

Optically dark (non-emitting) triplet excitons on organic molecules may be rendered bright by coupling the molecules to lanthanide-doped nanoparticles, providing a way to control such excitons in optoelectronic systems.

Strong lanthanide-doped upconversion luminescence enhancement is achieved by the use of surface molecules which enhance four-photon upconversion emission. The results may lead to new, highly emissive, nanohybrid systems.

Tuning the luminescence lifetimes of upconversion nanocrystals through lanthanide doping provides new opportunities for optical multiplexing in the time domain for applications in imaging and security marking.

Lanthanide-doped nanocrystals can be used to upconvert infrared radiation into visible light, and are thought to be promising for a range of photonic and biological imaging applications. It is now shown that the upconversion efficiency can be improved by appropriately clustering the lanthanide ions on different structural sublattices.

The emission wavelength of upconversion nanocrystals can be tuned by varying the shape and intensity of the excitation pulses.

A design rule to synthesize organic molecules with a phosphorescence lifetime longer than 1 second is presented. The molecules form H aggregates that promote the stabilization of triplet excitons and persistent luminescence under ambient conditions.

Supramolecular polymerizations typically proceed through stepwise intermolecular mechanisms, concomitant with many side reactions to yield aggregates of unpredictable size, shape and mass. Now, a chain-growth strategy is shown to allow assembly of molecules into supramolecular chain structures endowed with precisely controlled characteristics.

Inorganic nanoparticles can accumulate in living organisms causing a dose-dependent increase in cellular reactive oxygen species. Here, the authors leverage this as a potential scheme for regulating metabolic disorders, showing that that low-dose nanoparticle administration can enhance lipid hydrolysis and alleviate fatty liver.

Single-molecule sensing is very challenging due to weak emitted signals and environmental interference. Here the authors design a method (i-SET) for single molecule sensing with core-shell upconverting nanoparticles, which relies on signal enhancement by the activator-rich probes to quantify fluorophores attached to a single nanoparticle.

Luminescent materials that are capable of binary temporal coding are desirable for multilevel anti-counterfeiting. Here, the authors engineer nanoparticles that produce binary color codes on different timescales by combining the long-lived luminescence of Mn²⁺ with the relatively short-lived emission of lanthanides.

Triplet states are crucial for enhancing interfacial energy transfer and enabling the development of organic–inorganic hybrid materials with improved properties. This Review examines the properties of triplet states, strategies for controlling these ‘hidden’ states, their role in interfacial energy transfer, and the associated challenges and future opportunities.

Full-colour tuning in rare-earth doped monolithic tellurite glass is realised via excitation pulse modulation, enabling a novel platform for laser-based transparent displays.

Core-shelled nanoparticles NaYF₄:Ln³⁺@NaYF₄ with multicolor narrow-band persistent luminescence enable a new multidimensional optical information-storage technology.

This Protocol covers the synthesis of NaGdF₄ nanoparticles that incorporate lanthanide ions in different layers and can be used as luminescent probes that efficiently convert near-infrared excitation wavelengths into tunable visible emissions.