Corrosion resistant solid-state carbon dots@silicalite-1 composite for latent fingerprints detection

The aggregation-induced quenching (AIQ) properties of the solid-state carbon dots (CDs) limit their wide-scale actual applications. Herein, a novel corrosion resistant solid-state CDs@Silicalite-1 (CDs@S-1) composite was synthesized via in situ embedding CDs into the S-1 matrix. Owing to the confinement effect, CDs are immobilized into the interrupted defects of the three-dimensional S-1 matrix. The as-prepared composite possesses high photoluminescence quantum yield (63%) and extra-high stability in common organic solvents and various pH solutions (pH=2–14). Moreover, the feasibility of the CDs@S-1 composite as a fluorescent label on various substrates was investigated. The results demonstrate the images with well-defined papillary ridges under ultraviolet (UV) light and show great potential for latent fingerprints detection in forensic science.