Double-Protected All-Inorganic Perovskite Nanocrystals by Crystalline Matrix and Silica for Triple-Modal Anti-Counterfeiting Codes

Novel fluorescence with highly covert and reliable features is quite desirable to combat the sophisticated counterfeiters. Herein, we report a simultaneously triple-modal fluorescent characteristic of CsPbBr3@Cs4PbBr6/SiO2 by the excitation of thermal, ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) light for the first time, which can be applied for the multiple modal anti-counterfeiting codes. The diphasic structure CsPbBr3@Cs4PbBr6 nanocrystals (NCs) was synthesized via the typical reprecipitation method followed by uniformly encapsulation into silica microspheres. Cubic CsPbBr3 is responsible for the functions of anti-counterfeiting, while Cs4PbBr6 crystalline and SiO2 are mainly to protect unstable CsPbBr3 NCs from being destroyed by ambient conditions. The as-prepared CsPbBr3@Cs4PbBr6/SiO2 NCs possess improved stability and are capable of forming printable ink with organic binders for patterns. Interestingly, the fluorescence of diphasic CsPbBr3@Cs4PbBr6/SiO2 capsule patterns can be reversibly switched by the heating, UV, and IR light irradiation, which has been applied as triple-modal fluorescent anti-counterfeiting codes. The results demonstrate that the perovskite@silica capsules are highly promising for myriad applications in areas such as fluorescent anti-counterfeiting, optoelectronic devices, medical diagnosis, and biological imaging.