Tuning the Photoluminescence and Supramolecular Structure of Gold Nanoclusters by Ligand Exchange for Luminescent Applications

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

The ligand plays a vital role in the photoluminescence (PL) of metal nanoclusters (NCs). The emission color of green-emitting 6-Aza-2-thiothymine-protected gold (Au) NCs was tuned to be red through a ligand exchange (LE) strategy using a series of mercaptocarboxylic acids with varying carbon chain lengths. A direct correlation between the ligands’ chain lengths and the PL intensity was observed for the Au@SCn (n = 2, 3, 6, 8, and 11) NCs, which was explained by aurophilic interactions. Hydrogen bonds between the mercaptocarboxylic acids on the Au NCs surface are responsible for the supramolecular structure of Au NCs, which has the potential for bioimaging applications.