Highly luminescent upconversion material for anti-counterfeiting application

Abstract

Counterfeiting has become a major concern these days and has become a serious problem around the world. The latest advances in technology have made it easier to counterfeit sophisticated products. Therefore, it is important to look for new luminescent materials to combat counterfeiting. Here we report an upconversion YBO₃:Yb³⁺,Er³⁺ phosphor to combat counterfeiting. YBO₃:Yb³⁺,Er³⁺ Phosphor was admixed with a polyvinyl alcohol solution for the formation of colloidal solution to print security codes. The printed security codes give the emission of green colour at an excitation wavelength of 980 nm and appears white in sunlight. The structural, morphological and photoluminescent properties of YBO₃:Yb³⁺,Er³⁺ phosphorescent material were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM and photoluminescence technology, respectively. Therefore, the printed security code provides the anti-counterfeiting feature that is easy to detect and difficult to counterfeit.