Title: Optical tags comprising rare earth metal-organic frameworks

Abstract

Optical tags provide a way to identify assets quickly and unambiguously, an application relevant to anti-counterfeiting and protection of valuable resources or information. The present invention is directed to a tag fluorophore that encodes multilayer complexity in a family of heterometallic rare-earth metal-organic frameworks (RE-MOFs) based on highly connected polynuclear clusters and carboxylic acid-based linkers. Both overt (visible) and covert (near infrared, NIR) properties with concomitant multi-emissive spectra and tunable luminescence lifetimes impart both intricacy and security. Tag authentication can be validated with a variety of orthogonal detection methodologies. The relationships between structure, composition, and optical properties of the family of RE-MOFs can be used to create a large library of rationally designed, highly complex, difficult to counterfeit optical tags.

Inventors:

Sava Gallis, Dorina F.; Butler, Kimberly; Rohwer, Lauren E. S.

Issue Date:

2023-09-26

Research Org.:

Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

OSTI Identifier:

2222361

Patent Number(s):

11767468

Application Number:

17/479,710

Assignee:

National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC (Albuquerque, NM)

DOE Contract Number:  

NA0003525

Resource Type:

Patent

Resource Relation:

Patent File Date: 09/20/2021

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English