In situ coupling of carbon dots with zeolitic imidazolate frameworks enabling highly red emission in solid state

In this work, an extraordinary solid red emissive phosphor was prepared based on red-emitting carbon dots (R-CDs). The synthesis was conducted under an in-situ strategy, with assistance of zeolitic imidazolate frameworks. The obtained phosphor possesses a stronger red emission located at 630 nm in solid state, with CIE coordinate of (0.63, 0.35) and quantum yield of ∼ 45 %. As a consequence, not only aggregation-induced fluorescence quenching of R-CDs is avoided in solid state, but also an enhanced emission with high quantum yield is presented. Fluorescence properties were further explored in detail. The emission is found to be responsive to temperature and applied pressure. Based on the excellent emissive performance, the material has great potentials in anti-counterfeiting, latent fingerprint imaging, and temperature/pressure-sensing. This work provides a facile and promising way of preparing solid carbon-based phosphors for special applications.