Affiliation:
1. State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering South China University of Technology Guangzhou 510640 China
2. School of Food Science and Engineering South China University of Technology Guangzhou 510640 China
3. College of Engineering Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan 430070 China
4. China College of Horticulture and Forestry Science Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan 430070 China
Abstract
AbstractFluorescent hydrogel as an advanced material has been used for anti‐counterfeiting, probe detection, and optical devices. A facile strategy to prepare fluorescent hydrogel is developed by carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) with Europium(III) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The hydrogel forms a physical cross‐linking network under mild reaction conditions without using volatile organic chemicals. The addition of CMC‐Eu(III) improves the mechanical properties of the hydrogel. At 15% CMC‐Eu(III), the hydrogel reaches its maximum tensile and compressive stress, which are 47.25 ± 10.35 and 10.14 ± 1.90 kPa, respectively. Meanwhile, the hydrogels exhibit a 5D0→7F2 characteristic emission peak assigned to Eu3+, which emits stable red fluorescence under 254 nm ultraviolet (UV) light. When this hydrogel is applied to paper, the paper showed hidden fluorescent dots under UV light. This additive also enhances the mechanical properties of the paper, which reveals the multifunctionality of this fluorescent hydrogel for anti‐counterfeiting and reinforcement.