Lanthanide-Based Molecular Cluster-Aggregates: Optical Barcoding and White-Light Emission with Nanosized {Ln20} Compounds

Counterfeit goods represent a major problem to companies, governments, and customers, affecting the global economy. In order to protect the authenticity of products and documents, optical anti-counterfeit technologies have widely been employed via the use of discrete molecular species, extended metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), and nanoparticles. Herein, for the first time we demonstrate the potential use of molecular cluster-aggregates (MCA) as optical barcodes via composition and energy transfer control. The tuneable optical properties for the [Ln(20)(chp)(30)(CO3)(12)(NO3)(6)(H2O)(6)], where chp(-)=deprotonated 6-chloro-2-pyridinol, allow the fine control of the emission colour output, resulting in high-security level optical labelling with a precise read-out. Moreover, a unique tri-doped composition of Gd-III, Tb-III, and Eu-III led to MCAs with white-light emission. The presented methodology is a unique approach to probe the effect of composition control on the luminescent properties of nanosized molecular material.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates the potential use of molecular cluster-aggregates as optical barcodes, providing high-security level optical labeling with precise read-out. The unique methodology explores the effect of composition control on the luminescent properties of nanosized molecular materials.