With the global counterfeiting rate steadily increasing, government stability and health issues are negatively impacted. As a new approach to anti-counterfeiting, security labels based on Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) can combat this. Their commercial rarity and spectroscopic characteristics allow for a higher level of complexity of anti-counterfeiting mechanisms. In this study, a silver ink was first synthesized using a method modified from literature. Using a commercial inkjet printer, this ink was then printed to make security labels. Although hundreds of probe molecules can be used, this proof-of-concept study focused on three Raman probes: phthalocyanine, 4-mercaptobenzoic acid, and 4-aminothiolphenol. We obtained SERS spectra with distinguishable peaks that are related to the selection of probe molecules. Our results also showed that the SERS signals increase as the probe concentrations increase in the silver inks. Meanwhile, the temperature and time of post-print treatment also impact the SERS intensity. With further optimizations, our silver ink can be used to easily and conveniently print anti-counterfeiting labels which will ultimately deter the global counterfeit impact.

SERS-based inkjet printing for anticounterfeiting applications

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