Rethinking Assumptions: Assessing the Impact of Strong Magnetic Fields on Luminescence Thermometry

abstract

Luminescence (nano)thermometry has exploded in popularity, offering a remote detection way to measure temperature across diverse fields like nanomedicine, microelectronics, catalysis, and plasmonics. A key advantage is its supposed immunity to strong electromagnetic fields, a crucial feature in many environments. However, this assumption lacks comprehensive experimental verification as most of the proposed luminescent thermometers rely on magnetic ions, such as lanthanides. Here, we address this gap by critically examining the thermometric response of the luminescent molecular thermometer [Tb0.93Eu0.07(bpy)2(NO3)3] (bpy = 2,2 '-bipyridine) under high magnetic fields (up to 58 T). Our findings reveal that the conventional intensity-based method for Tb/Eu luminescent thermometers fails even under weak magnetic fields. However, careful data analysis identified specific transitions with minimal magnetic correlation, enabling the thermometer to operate across the entire temperature range up to 20 T, and with larger fields for temperatures exceeding 120 K. This study highlights the strong dependence of thermometric performance on material properties, urging caution, but also offers a path forward for developing robust luminescent thermometers in such environments.

keywords

TEMPERATURE-MEASUREMENTS; NANOPARTICLES; LANTHANIDES; EMISSION; SPECTRA; SENSORS; PROBES

subject category

Chemistry

authors

Aragon-Alberti, M; Dyksik, M; Brites, CDS; Rouquette, J; Plochocka, P; Carlos, LD; Long, J

Groups

G2 - Photonic, Electronic and Magnetic Materials

Projects

CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials (UIDB/50011/2020)

CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials (UIDP/50011/2020)

Associated Laboratory CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials (LA/P/0006/2020)

acknowledgements

This work has been supported by ANR with grant number ANR-19-CE07-0026-01. The France/Portugal bilateral actions Campus France/FCT PESSOA (47823YE) and CNRS International Emerging Action are also acknowledged. This work was partially developed within the scope of the project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, UIDB/50011/2020 (DOI 10.54499/UIDB/50011/2020), UIDP/50011/2020 (DOI 10.54499/UIDP/50011/2020) & LA/P/0006/2020 (DOI 10.54499/LA/P/0006/2020), financed by national funds through the FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). This study has been partially supported through the EUR grant NanoX no. ANR-17-EURE-0009 in the framework of the "Programme des Investissements d'Avenir". The Polish participation in European Magnetic Field Laboratory (EMFL) is supported by the DIR/WK/2018/07 grant from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Poland. The access to the high magnetic field facilities was supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program through ISABEL project (No. 871106). The authors also acknowledge the University of Montpellier, CNRS, and the support of LNCMI-CNRS, a member of the EMFL. J.L. acknowledges the support from the Institut Universitaire de France. Discussions on the Zeeman effect with Rute Ferreira are acknowledged.