Magnetic modification of lanthanide-based upconversion nanocrystals for fingerprint information recognition

The development of new magnetic fluorescent materials is of great significance for identification and criminal investigation. Since the photosensitive elements used in conventional cameras have exhibited the highest quantum efficiency in the range of 500–700 nm, lanthanide-based upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) with main emission peaks at 507–533 nm, 533–568 nm and 637–683 nm are suitable for constructing magnetic fluorescent materials. In this work, we demonstrate a type of magnetic upconversion nanoparticle (MUCNP) of NaGdF₄:Yb,Er-Fe₃O₄ by a ligand-linked method. After optimizing the reaction parameters, the composite particles possess remarkable magnetic properties and upconversion fluorescence intensity and achieve high contrast for latent fingerprint recognition on various substrates. The combination of upconversion luminescence and magnetism contributes to good fingerprint recognition sensitivity and universality.