Sol-gel synthesis of β-NaYF4:Yb3+/Nd3+/Tm3+/Mn2+ nanophosphors.
Crystalline β-NaYF4 was synthesized by calcining the as-prepared precursors at 550 °C for 1 h.
Color-tunable UCL of the nanophosphors was generated by a continuous variation of the pumping power of 980 nm LD.