2015 is the International Year of Light, proclaimed by the United Nations to recognize the achievements of light science and its applications, and its contributions to humankind. It will raise special attention for major topics and key technologies in the field of optics and photonics. Advanced Optical Materials will contribute to this goal through publishing a special series of outstanding review articles.
Since the advent of nanoscience a lot of effort had been put into the investitgation of nanoparticles and their various applications ranging from automotive and textiles to bioimaging and nanomedicine. Especially the class of lanthanide-doped nanoparticles are investigated in many fields, particularly for in vitro and in vivo imaging, as well as theranostics. Lanthanide-doped fluoride nanoparticles are regarded as efficient upconverting materials. In their review article John Capobianco (Concordia University, Montreal) and co-workers take an in-depth look at lanthanide-doped upconverting fluoride nanoparticles with a particular emphasis on the synthesis, nucleation, and growth mechanisms and, finally, the potential to tailor particle properties.
The full series can be found at www.advopticalmat.de/IYL. All articles will be published in Advanced Optical Materials and added to this virtual issue over the year.
