Figure 2.

Thermal conductivity (TC) signal as a function of temperature (and time on the right ordinate, dashed black curve) during isopropanol desorption and decomposition on pure Y₂O₃:Tb³⁺, SiO₂-coated, and pure SiO₂. For the pure Y₂O₃:Tb³⁺ the TC decrease with temperature indicates the reaction of the Y₂O₃ surface. In contrast, the behavior of SiO₂-coated nanophosphors is similar to the pure SiO₂ without any TC decrease, indicating that the core particles are hermetically encapsulated by a SiO₂ layer.