Blue luminescent N,S-doped carbon dots encapsulated in red emissive Eu-MOF to form dually emissive composite for reversible anti-counterfeit ink

Lanthanide metal-organic frameworks (Ln-MOFs) have demonstrated great potential in luminescence sensing and optical anti-counterfeiting. High-security anti-counterfeiting technology is of great importance and requires the development of universal luminescent materials with multiple modes of emission and adjustable photoluminescence. Herein, a 3D red light emission microporous europium(iii) metal-organic framework [Eu-3(OH)(1,3-db)(2)(H2O)(4)]center dot 3H(2)O (1) (1,3-db = 1,3-di(3 ',5 '-dicarboxylpheny) benzene) was constructed from a zigzag [Eu-3(COO)(8)] chain and pi-electron-rich terphenyl-tetracarboxylate. Notably, the quenched fluorescence of 1 under hydrogen chloride vapor could be recovered upon fuming by a vapor of Et3N. Most strikingly, the strong blue light emission by nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon dots (N,S-CDs) could be encapsulated in 1 to generate a dual-emission composite, namely, N,S-CDs@Eu-MOF, which shows solvent-dependent photoluminescence: N,S-CD-related blue luminescence in water and Eu-MOF-related red emission in organic solvents. Taking advantage of the above unique reversible fluorescent behavior, Eu-MOF and N,S-CDs@Eu-MOF are prepared as fluorescent high-security inks to achieve data encryption and decryption on specific flower patterns.

Automated summary

Lanthanide metal-organic frameworks are promising in luminescence sensing and optical anti-counterfeiting. The study introduces a novel red light emission europium(iii) metal-organic framework, which can generate a dual-emission composite by encapsulating nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon dots, showcasing reversible fluorescent behavior.