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Superhydrophobic fluorescent carbon quantum dots for AI-enabled anti-counterfeiting and textile coating applications
Shubham Garg1, Dharmendra Kumar1, Bharat Kumar Sahu1
1Soft Materials Research Laboratory, Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Indore-453552, India. mdubey@iiti.ac.in.
Materials Horizons
|August 11, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed superhydrophobic fluorescent carbon quantum dots (CQDs) inspired by nature. These CQDs show promise as anti-counterfeiting agents and in coatings, offering advanced self-cleaning and water-repellent properties.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Chemistry
Background:
- Nature utilizes superhydrophobic surfaces, like lotus leaves, for self-cleaning properties.
- Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) are emerging nanomaterials with tunable fluorescence.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize superhydrophobic solid-state fluorescent CQDs.
- To explore their application as anti-counterfeiting agents and in functional coatings.
Main Methods:
- Solvothermal synthesis using dithiosalicylic acid and various amine/thiol compounds.
- Characterization using transmission electron microscopy (TEM).
- Development of a Python-based image-processing program for fingerprint analysis.
Main Results:
- Successful synthesis of four types of CQDs (APC, YR, YG, CR) with tunable fluorescence and superhydrophobic properties.
- CR CQDs achieved a water contact angle of 172°, demonstrating excellent water repellence.
- Demonstrated application of CQDs for high-detail fluorescent latent fingerprint detection.
- CQDs showed superhydrophobic effects on textiles and mild steel.
Conclusions:
- Superhydrophobic fluorescent CQDs offer a novel approach for anti-counterfeiting and self-cleaning applications.
- The developed Python-based image processing enhances latent fingerprint analysis.
- These CQDs hold potential for practical applications in coatings and security.
