Wide-Range Tunable Fluorescence Lifetime and Ultrabright Luminescence of Eu-Grafted Plasmonic Core-Shell Nanoparticles for Multiplexing

Wide-range, well-separated, and tunable lifetime nanocomposites with ultrabright fluorescence are highly desirable for applications in optical multiplexing such as multiplexed biological detection, data storage, and security printing. Here, a synthesis of tunable fluorescence lifetime nanocomposites is reported featuring europium chelate grafted onto the surface of plasmonic core-shell nanoparticles, and systematically investigated their optical performance. In a single red color emission channel, more than 12 distinct fluorescence lifetime populations with high fluorescence efficiency (up to 73%) are reported. The fluorescence lifetime of Eu-grafted core-shell nanoparticles exhibits a wider tunable range, possesses larger lifetime interval and is more sensitive to separation distance than that of ordinary Eu-doping core-shell type. These superior performances are attributed to the unique nanostructure of Eu-grafed type. In addition, these as-prepared nanocomposites are used for security printing to demonstrate optical multiplexing applications. The optical multiplexing experiments show an interesting pseudo-information "a rabbit in a well" and conceal the real message "NKU."