Design and intelligent colour regulation of luminescent silk chemically bonded with Eu(III) and Eu(III)/Tb(III)

Design and successful synthesis of a series of novel luminescent silk chemically modified with europium(III) [Eu(III)] and europium(III)/terbium(III) [Eu(III)/Tb(III)] is reported. The modified silk specimens were characterised by infrared spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and evaluated for their colour fastness. The rare earth ions were linked to the silk fibre via chemical bonds with the aid of tetracarboxylic acids used as the bridging ligands. Therefore, the modified silk had excellent luminescent stability and colour fastness to water and sunlight. Based on the blue fluorescence of silk along with the red and green luminescence of Eu(III) and Tb(III), respectively, under ultraviolet irradiation intelligent colour regulation was easily achieved by adjusting either the amount of Eu(III) or the ratio of Eu(III)/Tb(III). The Commission International de l'Eclairage chromaticity co-ordinates calculated from the emission spectra also confirm the colour changes. Benefiting from the tunable colour and high stability, the modified silk could be an excellent candidate for applications in anti-counterfeiting and flexible tunable light- emitting materials.