Nannan
Zhu
a,
Ting
Wang
*b,
Longchao
Guo
a,
Xuanyu
Zhu
b,
Weifang
Bu
a,
Yang
Yue
a and
Xue
Yu
*ac
aSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, China. E-mail: yuyu6593@126.com
bCollege of Materials and Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China. E-mail: wangtkm@foxmail.com
cShandong Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Green Manufacturing at Yantai,
First published on 3rd August 2024
Anti-counterfeiting using multiple optical output modes has drawn considerable attention for enhancing anti-fake measures. Herein, a multimodal dynamic optical information coding from the self-activated Na2CaGe2O6 phosphor is developed. Na2CaGe2O6 phosphor exhibits two distinct emission bands associated with the intrinsic defects of oxygen vacancies () and inverse-site defects (). The incorporation of Bi3+ ions results in an increased concentration of defects, which in turn facilitates the modulation of the corresponding photoluminescence color from purple to red with prolonged ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. Moreover, the recovery of the corresponding emission color is observed for thermal disturbance. Besides, an improved optical storage behavior as the long persistent and photo-stimulated luminescence is achieved for the incorporation of Bi3+ ions. Consequently, a multimode dynamic color-changing code is constructed using screen-printing technology, offering an alternative approach for advanced anti-counterfeiting.
Phosphors with time-dependent luminescent performance are developed for dynamic anti-counterfeiting, including long persistent (LPL),13–18 photo-stimulated and mechanical luminescence (PSL),1,19–21 which are related to the filling and release rate of carriers from the traps under the stimulations of thermal disturbance, 980 nm laser and mechanical stimulation, respectively. Sun et al. reported a multi-stimulus-responsive Na2CaGe2O6:Pb2+/Er3+ phosphor that produces the corresponding PL and UCL under different excitations, and the PSL induces dynamic appearance changes of the printed images.22 Zhang et al. acquired color tunable LPL in Ca3Al2Ge3O12:Mn2+, Cr3+ by modulating the doping concentrations, pumped excitation energy and operated temperatures.23 Gao et al. synthesized Zn1+xGa2−2xGexO4:Mn (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) solid solution phosphor, which presents green LPL under mechanical stimulation.24 The dynamic luminescence behaviors generally rely on the presence of suitable trap centers.25 Trap centers refer to the energy levels within the bandgap of the corresponding phosphor where charge carriers can be trapped or stored.26–28 These trap centers enable the storage of the excitation energy, allowing for the release of carriers over an extended period of time under thermal disturbance or 980 nm laser stimulus.19,29,30 Therefore, effectively manipulating trap centers is crucial for phosphors to regulate their luminescent output.
In fact, self-activated luminescent properties based on its intrinsic defects for germanate phosphors have been investigated for their fascinating optical properties31–35 such as Na2ZnGeO4 and Ca2Ge7O16. It has been discovered that the structural manipulation contributes to the optical behavior regulation. Hence, it seems feasible to manipulate the defect centers of the self-activated host, enabling the desired dynamic luminescent behavior. In this work, Na2CaGe2O6 phosphor was explored with their self-activated emissions related to the oxygen vacancy () and inverse site defect (). Moreover, the state of defects could be manipulated with the introduction of Bi3+, thereby endowing the matrix with dynamic luminescence performances, including PL, LPL and PSL. Furthermore, it is observed that the increase in irradiation time contributes to the PL color regulation of the corresponding sample, while the recovery of the PL color change could be realized via thermal disturbance. Additionally, the LPL and PSL performance of Na2CaGe2O6:Bi3+ is significantly superior to that of the non-doped sample. Accordingly, a multimode dynamic luminescent anticounterfeiting and encryption approach is successfully constructed, which could pave a new way for the design and development of sophisticated and effective anti-counterfeiting.
The photoluminescence excitation (PLE) and PL spectra of the Na2CaGe2O6 phosphor are given in Fig. 2a. Under the excitation of 254 nm, the PL spectrum exhibits two distinct emission bands at 392 and 630 nm. The PLE spectrum of Na2CaGe2O6, when monitoring the emission of 630 nm, displays a broad band ranging from 200 to 375 nm, peaking at 254 nm and 302 nm, respectively. In contrast, there is only one excitation peak at 302 nm is detected by monitoring the wavelength 392 nm. Furthermore, samples of Na2CaGe2O6 were produced by sintering in the air (Na2CaGe2O6:Air), and argon atmospheres (Na2CaGe2O6:Argon), and Na1.89Ca0.96Ge2O6 was sintered in an air atmosphere (Na1.89Ca0.96Ge2O6:Air). The XRD patterns of these samples are presented in Fig. S2a.† All the diffraction peaks of the corresponding samples match well with those from the standard card of Na2CaGe2O6 (PDF#011-3302), suggesting that the pure phase samples were successfully obtained. The PL spectra of these samples shown in Fig. S2b† display two identical self-activated emissions with two broad bands centered at 392 nm and 630 nm under 254 nm excitation. Compared with the sample sintered in air, the argon-sintered sample shows a significant increase in the emission intensity at 392 nm. Moreover, the emission intensity of the Na2CaGe2O6:Air sample at 630 nm is significantly enhanced compared to that of Na1.89Ca0.96Ge2O6:Air. Herein, it is safe to say that the two emissions of the Na2CaGe2O6 phosphor are closely related to the corresponding defects. Fig. 2b shows the O 1s orbital peak of the Na2CaGe2O6:Air and Na2CaGe2O6:Argon samples. The peak of the O 1s orbitals can be fitted with four Gaussian peaks. The high-energy component of the peak is mainly attributed to the loosely bound oxygen, while the two low-energy peaks indicate the presence of oxygen vacancies.41–43 On the lower side of the binding energy, two peaks of the O 1s orbitals are distinguished and labeled as peak I (OI) and peak II (OII). The intensity ratios of OII and OI are associated with the concentration of oxygen vacancies and the highest ratio between OII and OI is observed for the Na2CaGe2O6:Argon sample, suggesting that a higher number of oxygen vacancies are formed (Table S1†). It indicates that the self-activated band at 392 nm is related to the presence of oxygen vacancies. Moreover, the defect preference of Na1.89Ca0.96Ge2O6 was investigated through density functional theory (DFT) calculations.44 Here, the possible substitution models for the vacancy (, M1) and inverse site (, M2) defects are considered. As shown in Fig. 2c, the formation energy of the M2 model was calculated to be −4.76 eV lower than that of the M1 model with −3.05 eV. It indicates that defects are more inclined to be formed, and the 630 nm emission is associated with defects. In addition, the formation energy of the oxygen vacancies was calculated to be −4.15 eV. From the point of view of charge neutrality, it is inferred that the negatively charged defects could be , which is located near the valence band, thereby facilitating electron–hole complexation during luminescence. Currently, much of the intrinsic emission of the self-activated fluorescent phosphor is attributed to intrinsic defects, as summarized in Table S2.†
Moreover, the PL spectra of the Na2CaGe2O6:xBi3+ (x = 0, 0.002, 0.005, 0.010, and 0.020) phosphors show two distinct emission bands at 392 nm and 630 nm under the excitation of 254 nm, as shown in Fig. 2d. No additional emission bands are observed compared to that of the Na2CaGe2O6 phosphor. Furthermore, the PLE spectrum of the Na2CaGe2O6:Bi3+ phosphor is identical to that of the Na2CaGe2O6 sample, as shown in Fig. S3.† These results suggest that the introduction of Bi3+ does not act as an emission center in the Na2CaGe2O6 phosphor. The dependence of the concentration of Bi3+ ions on the luminescence intensity of the phosphor demonstrates that the Na2CaGe2O6:0.002Bi3+ sample achieves the optimal luminescence intensity. Additionally, the relative emission intensities at 392 nm and 630 nm gradually change with the increase of the Bi3+ ions concentration, demonstrating that the incorporation of Bi3+ ions can effectively modulate the defect concentration in the Na2CaGe2O6 matrix. The gradual change in the Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates from (0.5412, 0.3547) to (0.3579, 0.2458), as shown in Fig. 2e, indicates a shift in the emission color from red to bluish violet light, which is matched well with the corresponding photographs.
Moreover, the decay curves of Na2CaGe2O6 and Na2CaGe2O6:Bi3+ obtained by monitoring the wavelength at 392 and 630 nm can be well fitted by double exponential functions (Fig. 2f):45,46
(1) |
The average luminescence lifetime τ* can be acquired from the following equation:47,48
(2) |
The average lifetime of Na2CaGe2O6 and Na2CaGe2O6:Bi3+ obtained by monitoring the emission at 392 nm is calculated to be 12.53 and 11.37 μs, respectively, moreover, by monitoring the emission at 630 nm, the calculated lifetime was determined to be 49.21 and 47.84 μs, respectively. The lifetime values of the corresponding emissions are similar before and after the introduction of the dopant ions, hence, it is safe to say that the introduction of Bi3+ contributes to the manipulation of the defect structure, rather than acting as activated centers.
The as-obtained Na2CaGe2O6:0.002Bi3+ phosphor displays modulated PL properties, as evidenced by the gradual change in PL color from violet to red as the exposure time increases from 0 to 60 seconds under 254 nm UV irradiation (Fig. 3a). The corresponding time-dependent PL spectra of Na2CaGe2O6:0.002Bi3+ phosphor are given in Fig. 3b. As the irradiation time increases, the emission intensity at 392 nm decreases while the emission intensity at 630 nm gradually increases. Consequently, the ratio of the emission intensity at 392 to 630 nm undergoes a significant change with increasing irradiation time, as depicted in Fig. 3c. The corresponding chromaticity coordinates successfully shift from (0.3284, 0.2369) to (0.4324, 0.2878) (Fig. 3d). Accordingly, the emission intensity of Na2CaGe2O6 changes with increasing irradiation time (Fig. S4†). Compared with the counterpart sample doped with Bi3+ ions, it is shown that the introduction of Bi3+ ions regulates the intrinsic defects, showing obvious dynamic PL performance. Fig. 3e shows the time-resolved I392 nm/I630 nm ratio from 1 to 120 s, revealing the high repeatability of the obtained sample in terms of the dynamic PL behavior. In addition, the dynamic change of the emission intensity under different wavelength irradiations is shown in Fig. S5.† With the increase of irradiation wavelength, the increasing trend of emission intensity at 630 nm gradually decreases, while the decreasing trend of emission intensity at 392 nm gradually increases. The results show that the emission intensity at 392 and 630 nm follows the opposite trend under irradiation with different wavelengths, which may be caused by the two emissions associated with distinct trap centers.
The temperature performance of Na2CaGe2O6:0.002Bi3+ was evaluated in the form of temperature-dependent PL spectra (80–270 K) shown in Fig. 4a. The emission intensities at 630 and 392 nm decrease gradually at the same rate as the temperature increases. When the temperature rises from 290 to 450 K, the thermal quenching rate of 630 nm emission is significantly higher than that of 392 nm, as shown in Fig. 4b. It is inferred that the distinct thermal response of the two involved emission centers is involved. Moreover, the PL spectra of the Na2CaGe2O6:0.002Bi3+ sample recorded the emission of 630 nm showing an obvious blue shift with the increase of temperature, are depicted in Fig. 4c. The inset plots the emission peak position, which confirms a slightly continuous blue-shift of the emission from 630 nm to 609 nm. The expansion of the host lattice with temperature increase may cause a reduction in the crystal field splitting, which furthermore leads to higher energy for the emission.49 As evidenced, the gradual change in PL color from red to violet as temperature increases from 80 to 450 K is presented in Fig. 4d. The variable-temperature spectra of Na2CaGe2O6 samples are shown in Fig. S6,† the emission intensity of the sample gradually decreases, and is almost completely quenched at 450 K with the increase of temperature, while the emission intensity of the Na2CaGe2O6:0.002Bi3+ sample maintains 40% of its initial value measured at 80 K. It indicates that the introduction of Bi3+ ions enhances the thermal stability of the corresponding sample.
Furthermore, the Na2CaGe2O6:Bi3+ phosphor exhibits excellent optical storage capabilities, making it suitable for information encryption applications. Optical storage performance is known to depend on traps,50–52 so thermoluminescence (TL) spectra of the corresponding sample with varying concentrations of Bi3+ ions were measured, as shown in Fig. 5a. The TL curves reveal a broad band centered at 360 K for all these samples, with a bandwidth ranging from 300 to 450 K, indicating a variety of trap depths and types. The density of the trap increases with the increased concentration of Bi3+ ions and reaches a maximum when the concentration of Bi3+ ions is 0.02. The TL curve exhibits a broad nonsymmetrical band, which can be accurately Gaussian-fitted into two bands located at 375 K (trap 1) and 415 K (trap 2), as shown in Fig. S7.† The number of trapped carriers as a function of irradiation time was studied using TL measurements (Fig. S8†). The integrated TL intensity is enhanced with increasing irradiation time and reaches saturation at ≈90 s. Meanwhile, the trap depth moves towards the high-temperature region from 335 to 367 K with increasing irradiation time. To further analyze the trap energy levels in detail, the optimized Na2CaGe2O6:0.002Bi3+ sample was selected for further studies. Fig. 5b presents the TL spectra of Na2CaGe2O6:0.002Bi3+ phosphor recorded at different preheated temperatures. It can be observed that the TL peak experiences a red shift as the initial temperature increases, indicating that a higher preheated temperature facilitates the faster release of carriers from shallow traps. The depths of the traps at different preheated temperatures are calculated by equations:53,54
(3) |
Accordingly, the corresponding mechanism can be summarized as follows (Fig. S11†). Under 254 nm UV irradiation, the electrons in the valence band (VB) are excited to the conduction band (CB). A part of the electrons under un-radiative relaxation from CB to (trap 1) and (trap 2) levels. Subsequently, the PL emission is generated through the recombination of the excited state (trap 1 and trap 2) and ground state (VB), resulting in the emission peaks at 392 nm and 630 nm. The dynamic PL observed in Na2CaGe2O6:0.002Bi3+ phosphor under 254 nm UV irradiation can be attributed to the presence of shallow and deep traps. When the electrons in the valence band are excited to the conduction band, a portion of them undergo non-radiative relaxation to (trap 1) and (trap 2) levels. Subsequently, the PL is generated through the recombination of the excited state (trap 1 and trap 2) and ground state, resulting in the emission peaks at 392 nm and 630 nm. At the beginning of the UV irradiation, the electrons in the CB are preferentially captured by trap 1 which is to be filled up instantly, leading to the emission of 392 nm. However, as the irradiation time increases, trap 1 is closer to the conduction band; the captured carriers are prone to thermal disturbance. This results in some of the captured electrons entering the conduction band, leading to a decrease in the intensity of the 392 nm. At the same time, the number of electrons captured by trap 2 increases, leading to an increase in the emission intensity at 630 nm. After the removal of UV irradiation, these trapped electrons escape from their respective traps under thermal perturbation or excitation by the 980 nm laser and then transition to the ground state, resulting in the generation of both LPL and PSL.
Based on the fascinating PL, LPL, and PSL properties of Na2CaGe2O6, Na2CaGe2O6:0.002Bi3+ and Na2CaGe2O6:0.02Bi3+ phosphors, a multimode dynamic optical output for anti-counterfeiting and information encryption was constructed. Firstly, the luminescent patterns were fabricated by screen printing, as shown in Fig. 6a. Na2CaGe2O6, Na2CaGe2O6:0.002Bi3+ and Na2CaGe2O6:0.02Bi3+ phosphors were employed to fill the patterns of “panda” and “flower”, respectively. Under UV irradiation, the “panda” patterns exhibit a remarkable PL. With the increase of the irradiation time, the pattern of the panda's face gradually changed from purple to red, while the pattern of the panda's body and flowers maintained the original purple and red, respectively. After UV irradiation for 60 s, the pattern of “panda” turned purple after the sample was heat-treated at 450 K. After tuning off the UV lamp for 1 s, only the “panda” pattern exhibited significant red afterglow. Because of the difference in the LPL decay rate between Na2CaGe2O6:0.002Bi3+ and Na2CaGe2O6:0.02Bi3+ phosphors, the full red “panda” could be observed within 30 seconds with the naked eye. A schematic diagram, describing the preparation of two quick response (QR) code patterns, is shown in Fig. 6b. Na2CaGe2O6 and Na2CaGe2O6:0.002Bi3+ phosphors are filled with two different QR codes, and then the two QR codes were superimposed on each other (Fig. 6b i). Here, once one of the QR codes is displayed completely and successfully scanned, the encrypted information can be read out. Moreover, once the Na2CaGe2O6 and Na2CaGe2O6:0.002Bi3+ are filled with different regions of the QR code (Fig. 6b ii), the encrypted information could be obtained as long as both of the involved phosphors perform identical decay time. Under 254 nm UV lamp excitation, the QR codes initially encompass the red and the violet patterns, and the emission is gradually dominated by the red light with the increase of irradiation time, wherein the encrypted information was unreadable, as shown in Fig. 6c i. After the ultraviolet lamp was turned off after 60 s, a clear and complete red QR code was observed in the LPL mode and the information “CDU” can be read successfully within 20 seconds. However, the information cannot be read out in the PSL mode. In Fig. 6c ii, the QR code information “CDU” can be recognized only with the PL and PSL modes. According to the results, the multi-modal dynamic optical information encryption and decoding strategy is available for effectively improving information security in anti-counterfeiting applications.
Footnote |
† Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: The experimental approach, characterizations and computational methodology. See DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d4ce00578c |
This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2024 |