The doping concentration of lanthanide ions is important for manipulating the luminescence properties of upconversion nanoparticles （UCNPs）. However, the serious concentration quenching in highly doped UCNPs remains a vital restriction for further enhanced upconversion luminescence （UCL）. Herein, we examined the effect of temperature on the concentration quenching of rare-earth UCNPs, an issue that has been overlooked, and we show that it is significant for biomedical or optical applications of UCNPs. In this work, we prepared a series of UCNPs by doping Er3. luminescent centers at different concentrations in a NaLuF4：Yb3＋ matrix. At room temperature （298 K）, steady-state photoluminescence （PL） spectroscopy showed substantial concentration quenching of the Er~ emission with increasing doping concentrations. However, the concentration quenching effect was no longer effective at lower temperatures. Kinetic curves obtained from time-resolved PL spectroscopy further showed that the concen- tration quenching dynamics were vitally altered in the cryogenic temperature region, i.e., below 160 K. Our work on the temperature-switchable concentration quenching mechanism may shed light on improving UCL properties, promoting their practical applications.
