Immobilization of strontium aluminate nanoparticles into electrospun nanofibrous membrane of nanocrystalline cellulose-reinforced polysulfone as security encoding pattern to combat forgery.

[Display omitted] • Electrospun nanocrystalline cellulose/polysulfone nanofibers were prepared. • Nanoparticles (5–14 nm) of strontium aluminate were encapsulated in nanofibers. • Nanofibrous membranes showed mechanical reliability and photostability. • Different phosphor contents provided nanofibers with distinctive optical activity. • Colorless nanofibrous membranes showed photochromism to green (519 nm) under UV. Photochromic inks have been used as an encryption technology to improve the authentication of commercial products. However, they have recently shown poor durability and photostability. In this context, an anti-counterfeiting photochromic nanofibrous membrane was developed for data encoding. Rare-earth doped aluminate nanoparticles (RAN) were embedded in a nanofibrous labeling system composed of a cellulose nanocrystal-reinforced polysulfone nanocomposite (PSU). Cellulose nanocrystals were prepared from microcrystalline cellulose, displaying diameters of 10–20 nm. RAN exhibited diameters of 5–14 nm, and PSU fibers displayed diameters of 75–150 nm. Impressive photostability, durability, and reversibility were achieved by the RAN-immobilized nanofibrous label. The emission properties of the photoresponsive nanofibrous membrane were tailored by manipulating the amount of RAN. The nanofibrous membrane was colorless under visible lighting conditions, whereas a green emission was detected when exposed to ultraviolet radiation. An emission peak of 519 nm indicated a green color, whereas an excitation peak of 365 nm suggested transparency. In order to identify the chemical composition and structural properties of the produced nanofibrous membranes, different microscopic and spectroscopic techniques were used. The mechanical performance of the paper sheets coated with RAN@PSU nanofibers was investigated. The current strategy provides a simple procedure for the development of nanofibrous membranes, which can assist to combat forging of commercial products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]