Luminescence anti-counterfeiting: From elementary to advanced

Luminescence anti-counterfeiting derives from the easily changeable luminescence behaviors of luminescence materials under the regulation of various external stimuli (such as excitation light, chemical reagent, heat, and mechanical force, etc.) and luminescence lifetime, which plays an important role in preventing forgery of currency, artworks, and product brands. According to the numbers of changes of anti-counterfeiting labels under various regulation conditions, luminescence anti-counterfeiting can be classified into three levels from elementary to advanced: single-level anti-counterfeiting, double-level anti-counterfeiting, and multilevel anti-counterfeiting. In this review, the recent achievements in luminescence anti-counterfeiting are summarized, and the regulation of various factors to anti-counterfeiting labels is discussed. Finally, existing problems, future challenges, and possible development directions are proposed in order to realize facile, quick, low-cost, environmentally friendly, and difficult-to-replicate advanced luminescence anti-counterfeiting.