Control of electron–phonon dynamics by quantum confinement in isolated Y2SiO5:Pr3+ nanocrystal

Abstract The fluorescence spectrum and decay of isolated Y2SiO5:Pr3+nanocrystals at the glass-air interface were investigated using the confocal fluorescence microscopy and time-resolved techniques. Intense fluorescence from the upper crystal field components of the split 1D2 term of Pr3+ was observed. The fluorescence decay is characterized by the non-exponential law t - 1 / 2 which is caused by the back-to-back energy exchange between Pr3+ electronic states and long-lived nanocrystal phonons. The observed effect is very sensitive to the cluster–substrate interaction and opens a new spectroscopic way to explore the excited states of J-manifolds of RE ions directly.