Facile development of novel photochromic luminescent composite fiber for anticounterfeiting and wearable UV detector

Abstract

Photo-responsive fibers with persistent luminescence and reversible color switching properties are highly in demand owing to their potential application in information security, camouflage, optical sensors, and anticounterfeiting. Herein, a facile strategy to develop novel photochromic luminescent fiber (PLF) via a wet-spinning process was presented. The resulting fiber is composed of rare-earth luminescent phosphors SrAl2O4: Eu2+, Dy3+ (SAO) and Y2O2S: Eu3+, Mg2+, Ti4+ (YOS) as the luminescence sources, photochromic yellow microcapsules (PYM) as the reversible photochromic materials, and the matrix is polyacrylonitrile (PAN). The as-prepared fiber emits unique yellow luminescence with long afterglow under ultraviolet (UV) light. Furthermore, the fiber shows a quick and reversible color response to UV stimulation. Benefiting from the excellent reversible photochromic behavior, and persistent luminescence, the photochromic luminescent fiber can be adopted in various applications such as smart textiles, anticounterfeiting, and wearable UV detection devices.