Creation of the tunable color light emission of cellulose hydrogels consisting of primary rare-earth compounds

In this study cellulose hydrogels with lanthanide ions nanoparticles embedded in were prepared via in situ doping using a low-temperature alkali hydroxide/urea aqueous solution as a cellulose solvent. Depending on the type and relative concentrations of the constituent lanthanide ions, the color of light emission were modulated to generate the three primary colors and other adjusted colors by blending red, green and blue at certain ratios. This work has opened new and convenient pathway to create regulated fluorescent cellulose hydrogels for potential applications in the fields of bioimaging and fluoroimmunoassay.