Synthesis of multicolor luminescent adjustable carbon dots and their application in anti-counterfeiting

A novel approach for fabricating color-adjustable carbon dots (CDs) is proposed via hydrothermal treatment of p- aminobenzenesulfonic acid and o- , m- , or p- phenylenediamines, respectively. The as-synthesized CDs can emit blue, green, and orange fluorescence and are named b-CDs, g-CDs, and o-CDs, respectively. All of them have strict excitation independence and excellent photostability. Variations of photoluminescence emitting them are attributed to the difference in their particle size, the degree of oxidation , and the content of N-related states on their surface. Furthermore, these multicolor CDs have been used as fluorescents inks, which perform well in anti-counterfeiting and information security.