Broad Spectrum Tunable Photoluminescent Material Based on Cascade Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer between Three Fluorophores Encapsulated within the Self-Assembled Surfactant Systems

Abstract

A broad spectrum tunable photoluminescent material with dual encryption based on a two-step fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between pyrene (Py), coumarin 480 (Cou480), and rhodamine 6G (R6G) in micelles of SDS and bmimDS is presented. The phenomenon is achievable due to the encapsulation of the fluorophores within these micelles. The transfer of energy as FRET between the pair Py and Cou480 showed ON at 336 nm and OFF at 402 nm in contrast to the FRET observed between the pair Cou480 and R6G that showed ON at 402 nm and OFF at 336 nm. However, the transfer of energy as FRET occurs from Py to R6G in the presence of Cou480 when excited at 336 nm, thereby making it a chain of three fluorophores with Cou480 acting as a relay fluorophore receiving energy from Py and transferring it to R6G. The different FRET scenarios between the three fluorophores in micelles provide a window for the generation of a matrix of colors, which occupies a significant 2D area in the chromaticity diagram, having potential applications in security printing. The different fluorophoric ratios generate different colors based on their individual photonic emissions and the FRET processes taking place between them. Writing tests were carried out using varied ratios of the fluorophores in the micellar systems producing different colored outputs under the UV light with insignificant visibility under the white light. We envision that this as-discovered three fluorophoric FRET system could form the basis for the future development of multi-FRET lightharvesting devices and anti-counterfeiting security inks based on much simpler non-covalent interaction aided encapsulation of the fluorophores within the self-assembled soft systems.

Pyrene-based aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens) with less colour migration for anti-counterfeiting applications

“…On the other hand, pyrene derivatives can also be used to prepare fluorescent inks for the preparation of fluorescence labels by writing and printing. [32][33][34][35] Much effort has been devoted to the functionalization of pyrene in order to improve the fluorescence properties. [36] Most of the efficient strategies involve transforming pyrene-based ACQ luminogens to AIE through the adjustment of the twist conformation of the substituents.…”

The Materials and Application of Artificial Light Harvesting System Based on Supramolecular Self‐assembly

“…The shortcomings of the above synthetic methods (difficult synthesis and separation, high environmental requirements) can be solved by effective molecular design and functionalized assembly in artificially simulated light-harvesting systems. So far, the light-harvesting systems based on supramolecular assemblies mainly include several categories: macrocyclic compounds, vesicles, [15][16][17][18] proteins [19][20][21][22] and organic nanomaterials, [23][24][25] organogel materials, organic-inorganic hybrids, liquid crystal materials, and so on.…”

Pyrene-naphthalimide Schiff base as a fluorescent pigment in water-based security ink

“…Although various colorants are available, very few inks, such as bio-ink and tattoo inks, have been developed utilizing pyrene, primarily for inkjet and 3D printing. The majority of the pyrene-based inks used for anti-counterfeiting applications are probed as writing or painting ink (Sonawane and Asha 2016;Wakchaure et al 2019;Lone et al 2019;Qiu et al 2020;Shi et al 2021), and rarely they are screen or inkjet printed (Chen et al 2019;Wang et al 2021). There are only two detailed reports on pyrene derivatives used in water-based flexographic inks (Bhagya et al 2021;Muthamma et al 2021).…”