Lab-on-hybrid materials: Color-brand multitarget fluorescence detection with white-light-emitting flexible materials

Chemical production requires the rapid and highly sensitive detection of trace volatile substances. Although the commonly used multichannel combined detection methods are quantitatively accurate, they require the joint operation of multiple devices and are unsuitable for on-site detection. Fluorescence detection technology has attracted considerable interest in the sensing field owing to its high sensitivity, low cost, and multicolor changes, although cost reduction requires the preparation of portable and sensitive on-site detection materials. In this paper, single-wavelength-excited complexes are integrated into a rare-earth organic–inorganic hybrid thin film that senses and identifies multiple target analytes. The volatilization characteristics of the gas generated during production were simulated on five common acidic and amine volatile substances as target compounds, verifying the detection ability of the material. By virtue of their different quenching mechanisms—energy competition, hydrogen bonding, and energy resonance—the channels produce different responses to each volatile substance, causing changes in the fluorescence color. As the detected substances generate different fluorescence-change processes and final colors, a change path similar to a fluorescence fingerprint is formed, enabling qualitative and quantitative analyses. Exploiting the flexibility of the thin film and its responses to different target substances, a system that encrypts and decrypts information was then designed. The proposed lab-on hybrid material simplifies the multitarget identification process and has substantial potential for various sensing applications.