Carbon dots for promoting the growth of ZIF-8 crystals to obtain fluorescent powders and their application for latent fingerprint imaging

An environmentally friendly synthetic route for carbon dots/ZIF-8 fluorescent powders has been developed. It was found that the carbon dots can promote the growth of ZIF-8 crystals. The carbon dots/ZIF-8 fluorescent powders can be fabricated at a relatively low 2-methylimidazole/Zn2+ molar ratio (10:1) in aqueous solution at room temperature. Different morphologies and sizes of the carbon dots/ZIF-8 fluorescent powders are easily obtained by adjusting the 2-methylimidazole/Zn2+ molar ratio. The as-prepared carbon dots/ZIF-8 fluorescent powders can afford multi-colored imaging of latent fingerprints on different substrates and show great potential for latent fingerprint detection.