In situ fabrication of a luminescent copper nanocluster/eggshell membrane composite and its application in visual detection of Ag+ ions, light-emitting diodes and surface patterning.

In this work, we report a novel strategy for fabricating a luminescent 2D nanocomposite at room temperature by in situ generation of luminescent copper nanoclusters (Cu NCs) embedded in natural monolithic eggshell membrane (ESM) using dithiothreitol as the reducing and capping agent. The established fabrication is facile, cost-effective and viable. The as-prepared Cu NC/ESM nanocomposite exhibited excellent photoluminescence performance, improved chemical, thermal and photo stability, convenient tailoring and flexibility. Significantly, the nanocomposites could be employed as test strips for the visual detection of Ag+ ions based on the luminescence quenching phenomenon and as color conversion layers in light-emitting diodes. Furthermore, application of the proposed strategy for surface luminescence patterning was well demonstrated, indicating great potential in biomass based anti-counterfeiting, information encryption and security paper or sheets.