Oxide glass used as inorganic template for fluorescent fluoride nanoparticles synthesis

We report an original way to synthesise single-crystal PbF2 nanoparticles by selective chemical attack of a bulk nanocomposite oxyfluoride glass–ceramic. Free of impurities and homogeneously doped with Er3+ ions, the particles are of narrow size dispersion around 15 nm and weakly aggregated. The nanocrystallites emit a very intense green and blue up conversion fluorescence after infrared excitation. The doping level and the size of the particles is finely driven through the precursor glass–ceramic synthesis and composition.