Texture and Phase Recognition Analysis of beta-NaYF4 Nanocrystals

Texture and phase recognition analysis (TPRA) based on electron nanodiffraction technique is used to characterize the geometry of up-conversion nanocrystals (UCNCs) synthesized by the common thermal-decomposition protocol in the presence of a stoichiometric amount of NH4F. Here, we confirmed experimentally that despite the apparently different shapes of samples (hexagons, rods, and cubes), all the nanocrystals are actually beta-phase hexagonal prisms. This is of relevance since many biological features of nanostructures, such as cellular internalization and cytotoxicity, are governed by their geometry. In addition, reproducibility in biological experiments is paramount.