@article{Zhang2022, 
author = {Chunguang Zhang and Meiran Zhang and Wei Zheng and Jiaojiao Wei and Shiteng Wang and Ping Huang and Xingwen Cheng and Tao Dai and Zhuo Chen and Xueyuan Chen},
title = {A new class of luminescent nanoprobes based on main-group Sb3+ emitters},
year = {2022},
journal = {Nano Research},
volume = {15},
number = {1},
pages = {179-185},
keywords = {photoluminescence, bioimaging, nanoprobe, CaS, Sb3+, excited-state dynamics},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.1007/s12274-021-3454-4},
doi = {10.1007/s12274-021-3454-4},
abstract = {Inorganic luminescent nanocrystals (NCs) doped with main-group ns2-metal ions have evoked tremendous interest in many technological fields owing to their superior optical properties. Herein, we report a new class of luminescent nanoprobes based on 5s2-metal Sb3+-doped CaS NCs that are excitable by using a near ultraviolet light-emitting diode. The optical properties and excited-state dynamics of Sb3+ in CaS NCs are comprehensively surveyed through temperature-dependent steady-state and transient photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies. Owing to the strong electron–phonon coupling of Sb3+ in CaS NCs, Sb3+ ions experience a dynamic Jahn-Taller distortion on the excited state, which results in bright green PL of Sb3+ with a broad emission band, a large Stokes shift, and a high PL quantum yield up to 17.3%. By taking advantage of the intense PL of Sb3+, we show in proof-of-concept experiments the application of biotinylated CaS: Sb3+ NCs as sensitive luminescent nanoprobes for biotin receptor-targeted cancer cell imaging and zebrafish imaging with a high imaging contrast. These findings provide fundamental insights into the excited-state dynamics of Sb3+ in CaS NCs, thus laying a foundation for future design of novel and versatile luminescent nanoprobes via main-group ns2-metal doping.}
}