Flexible color-tunable composite based on surface modified lanthanide ions for broadband response and bionic application

Multicolor flexible materials are in growing interest owing to the prominent fluorescence tunability and flexible adaptability. However, narrow band response and finite color transition limit the diverse application of multicolor flexible materials. Herein, flexible lanthanide ions-doped dual GdF3 composite with broadband light source response is successfully constructed via the inspiration of natural color-mixing strategy. Surfactant modification and collaboration of dual GdF3 effectively enhance the photoluminescence emission and color-tunable ability. Further by the excitation of light sources in the ultraviolet (274, 348, 395 nm) and near-infrared (980 nm) regions, the accurate multimodal photoluminescence transition can be clearly observed. Benefiting from such effective strategy, the flexible composite is further implemented in the application of bionic butterfly, flower and leaf, showing good adaptability and color-tunable behaviors. Based on above outstanding performances, the flexible composite can make up for deficiency of traditional color-tunable materials and greatly expand the applications in the optical storage, industrial detection, and anti-counterfeiting fields.