New publication in Chemical Science: Blue-to-UV upconversion with Pr³⁺ – design principles for efficient materials

We are pleased to announce the latest publication from Prof. Dr. Markus Suta's working group:

T. Förster, J. Reifenberger, T. Moumin, J. Helmbold, Ž. Antić, M. D. Dramićanin, M. Suta, Design principles for (efficient) excited-state absorption-based blue-to-UV upconversion phosphors with Pr³⁺

Chem. Sci., 2025, Advance Article, https://doi.org/10.1039/D5SC01862E

Cost-effective conversion of blue light from LEDs to ultraviolet light is possible with the lanthanide ion Pr³⁺. But how? It turns out that not only the vibrational energies of a surrounding host compound, but also the ligand field and structural design play a decisive role to ensure optimum upconversion quantum yields at decent incident power densities. The chloridoelpasolite Cs₂NaYCl₆:Pr³⁺ fulfils many of the desirable properties for blue-to-UV upconversion and outperforms any other reported candidate so far.