Facile Preparation of Bright-Fluorescent Soft Materials from Small Organic Molecules

Graphical Bright side of soft materials : A facile approach for the preparation of a new fluorescent soft material, which relies on directly heating an aqueous mixture of citric acid and cysteine at low temperature in air (see figure), is reported. Highly fluorescent and biocompatible soft materials are desirable for many potential applications, but their synthetic processes are somehow complicated. Herein, we have explored the feasibility of synthesis of unconventional fluorescence soft materials from small organic molecules under mild conditions. A new blue-fluorescent soft material with high quantum yield (89.6 %) and eutectic feature prepared by simple heat treatment of citric acid (CA) and cysteine (Cys) aqueous mixtures below 100 °C in air was reported. The as-prepared fluorescent material has the features of facile preparation, low cost, scalable production and easy to process, making it suitable for applications like fluorescent labeling and light-emitting devices. This new finding opens a new venue for the preparation of fluorescent soft materials.