Gaseous Environment-Sensitive Fluorescence Of Yag:Ce3+ Nanocrystals

The influence of the surrounding gaseous media on optically excited fluorescence of YAG:Ce nanoparticles was studied. It was observed that the 5d -> 4f fluorescence of Ce3+ ions in YAG nanoparticles dramatically depends on the pressure of the gaseous media surrounding the powder samples. The observations suggest the possibility of probing the pressure at the single molecule level with nanoparticles. It is suggested that the observed effects result from gas-molecule-assisted electron transfer between the nanoparticles and from modification of the surface of the particles by adsorption of gas molecules.