Supramolecular color-tunable photoluminescent materials based on a chromophore cascade as security inks with dual encryption

Xu, Z.; Gonzalez-Abradelo, D.; Li, J.; Strassert, C. A.; Ravoo, B. J.; Guo, D.

Abstract

The design and development of novel broad-spectrum tunable photoluminescent materials for security printing with encrypted information is highly desirable. We construct a supramolecular co-assembly platform of amphiphilic cyclodextrin and calixarene{,} promoting energy transfer among three chromophores that are loaded by non-covalent interactions. A large matrix of colors was realized by delicately tuning the molar ratios of chromophores{,} which occupies most of the area in the Commission Internationale de l{'}Eclairage (CIE) chromaticity diagram. The elaborate supramolecular “cocktail” hides a dual-encryption coding{,} which exhibits feasible application as fluorescent security inks that are difficult to counterfeit but easy to authenticate.