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Updated: Jun 4, 2025
Synthesis and Operation of Fluorescent-core Microcavities for Refractometric Sensing
Published on: March 13, 2013
Encapsulation of fluorescent carbon dots into mesoporous SiO2 colloidal spheres by surface functionalization-assisted
Wenbo You1, Linyunuo Lai2, Jiahui Li2
1State Key Laboratory of Featured Metal Materials and Life-Cycle Safety for Composite Structures, School of Resources, Environment and Materials, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, Guangxi, China; Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China; College of Environmental Science and Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, 102206, China.
Abstract:
Exploiting solid powder fluorescence holds significant potential in diverse domains including medicine and forensics. Conventional fingerprint detection methods often fall short due to low contrast, sensitivity, and high toxicity. To addressing these challenges, we present a novel method for latent fingerprint detection using fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) encapsulated into conventional or mesoporous SiO2 colloidal spheres (CD@SiO2 or CDs@m-SiO2) through a surface functionalization-assisted cooperative assembly process. The synthesized monodisperse CDs@SiO2 and CDs@m-SiO2 spheres, with tuning particle size, adjustable porosity and pore size, and highly dispersed CDs, exhibit improved fingerprint visibility and contrast on various substrates such as glass, stainless steel, and plastic. CDs located in SiO2 with excellent affinity effectively avoids their solid-state self-quenching phenomenon, which, coupling with mesoporous SiO2 shell, maximumly retains their fluorescence properties. Our method demonstrates a high contrast, selectivity, and sensitivity in fingerprint detection, offering an environmentally friendly and healthy alternative to conventional techniques, and showcasing a facile route to novel solid-state CDs-based fluorescent materials for forensic analysis.
