A 200-fold quantum yield boost in the photoluminescence of silver-doped Ag(x)Au(25-x) nanoclusters: the 13th silver atom matters.
The rod-shaped Au25 nanocluster possesses a low photoluminescence quantum yield (QY=0.1%) and hence is not of practical use in bioimaging and related applications. Herein, we show that substituting silver atoms for gold in the 25-atom matrix can drastically enhance the photoluminescence. The obtained Ag(x)Au(25-x) (x=1-13) nanoclusters exhibit high quantum yield (QY=40.1%), which is in striking contrast with the normally weakly luminescent Ag(x)Au(25-x) species (x=1-12, QY=0.21%). X-ray crystallography further determines the substitution sites of Ag atoms in the Ag(x)Au(25-x) cluster through partial occupancy analysis, which provides further insight into the mechanism of photoluminescence enhancement.
Department of Chemistry, Anhui University, Hefei, Anhui 230601 (China).
Shuxin
S
Wang
Xiangming
X
Meng
Anindita
A
Das
Tao
T
Li
Yongbo
Y
Song
Tiantian
T
Cao
Xiuyi
X
Zhu
Manzhou
M
Zhu
Rongchao
R
Jin
doping; gold; metal nanoclusters; photoluminescence; silver