Smart Upconverting Nanoparticles and New Types of Upconverting Nanoparticles

Upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) convert incident near-infrared photons to higher energy visible/ultraviolet photon. It has been explored for decades; the advancement in nanotechnology enabled us in making a smart and new type of UCNPs, for example, core–shell nanostructures, hybrid inorganic–organic UC materials, UC-based metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), magnetic upconverting materials, etc. These modifications bring multifunctionality and some novel applications for UCNPs in photoluminescence-based anticounterfeiting, multimodal bioimaging, drug delivery, optical sensing, etc. This book chapter embodies studies on various smart UCNPs and their novel applications.