Preparation of cellulose-based fluorescent materials as coating pigment by use of DMSO/DBU/CO2 system

A series of cellulose-based fluorescent materials are prepared under relative mild conditions by use of the DMSO/1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU)/CO2 system to utilize as coating pigments. Through the observation under 365 nm UV light, the cellulose-based fluorescent materials exhibit good fluorescence response and bright color. Furthermore, due to the limitation of the molecular skeleton of cellulose, the intrinsic aggregation caused quenching phenomenon commonly existed in conventional organic fluorescent pigments can be effectively inhibited, which is very helpful to retain good fluorescence response in epoxy-based coating material and its coating films. Moreover, the addition of cellulose-based fluorescent materials also increases the mechanical properties of the coating film. The increase of tensile strength and tensile modulus respectively reaches ~39% and ~66%. Solvent resistance and thermal property of the coating films generally remain unchanged. The fabrication of cellulose-based fluorescent materials in DMSO/DBU/CO2 system provides a feasible way to develop the functional application of cellulose. Graphic abstract