A multi-dimensional anti-counterfeiting nanocomposite based on fluorescent CDs and Eu-MOFs with dual function for continuous detection of Cu2+ and Bacillus anthracis

Traditional luminescent materials for anti-counterfeiting usually adopt encryption of low-level systems with limited security, which seriously hinders their application in preventing counterfeiting and information leakage. Therefore, it is urgent to develop materials for higher-level anti-counterfeiting. In this work, a stimulus-responsive intelligent luminescent material (AC@CDs-Eu-MOFs) was prepared by co-loading green-fluorescence CDs and red-fluorescence Eu-MOFs on Amino clay (AC). 5D security barcodes, which were easy to observe while difficult to clone, were ulteriorly designed based on the nanocomposite owing to the tunable fluorescence by optical stimulation and chemical stimulus. Owing to the large capacity, low cost, and easy authentication, the 5D security barcodes possess enormous potential in optical data storage and multi-dimensional information encryption. In addition, the chemical stimulus-response enables the nanocomposite achievable in detection of Cu2+ and Bacillus anthracis. Particularly, quantitative determination of copper in environmental water samples could be realized with a detection limit as low as 10.67 nM. Therefore, the material shows potential for detection of environmental pollutants besides advanced anti-counterfeiting.