Highly sensitive self-referencing thermometry probe and advanced anti-counterfeiting based on the CDs/YVO4:Eu3+ composite materials

The multi-functional materials with temperature sensing and multi-color imaging have broad application prospects in our daily life. A novel temperature-sensing technique facilitates the self-referencing thermometry probe to possess high sensitive, excellent repeatability and superior temperature resolution. Herein, temperature dependences of the emission spectra in carbon dots (CDs)/YVO4:Eu3+ composite are investigated at temperatures ranging from 313 K to 448 K. Furthermore, the non-toxic polyacrylic acid (PAA) is also introduced to prepare a uniform anti-counterfeit ink, which can significantly improve the afterglow performance by further hardening the CDs. Particularly, CDs/YVO4:Eu3+/PAA composites exhibit multi-mode emission color tuning in advanced optical anti-counterfeiting.