Higher Educational Key Laboratory for Nano Biomedical Technology of Fujian Province, Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Fujian Medical University, 350004, Fuzhou, China.
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 4, Singapore, 117585, Singapore.
Nat Commun. 2022 Jun 13;13(1):3381. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-30760-3.
Metal nanoclusters (NCs) have been developed as a new class of luminescent nanomaterials with potential applications in various fields. However, for most of the metal NCs reported so far, the relatively low photoluminescence quantum yield (QY) in aqueous solution hinders their applications. Here, we describe the utilization of bis-Schiff base linkages to restrict intramolecular motion of surface motifs at the single-cluster level. Based on Au(SG) (SG: glutathione) NCs, an intracluster cross-linking system was constructed with 2,6-pyridinedicarboxaldehyde (PDA), and water-soluble gold NCs with luminescence QY up to 48% were obtained. The proposed approach for achieving high emission efficiency can be extended to other luminescent gold NCs with core-shell structure. Our results also show that the content of surface-bound Au(I)-SG complexes has a significant impact on the PDA-induced luminescence enhancement, and a high ratio of Au(I)-SG will be beneficial to increasing the photoluminescence intensity of gold NCs.
金属纳米团簇 (NCs) 已被开发为一类新型发光纳米材料，具有在各个领域应用的潜力。然而，对于迄今为止报道的大多数金属 NCs，其在水溶液中的相对较低的荧光量子产率 (QY) 限制了它们的应用。在这里，我们描述了利用双席夫碱键来限制表面图案在单簇水平上的分子内运动。基于 Au(SG)（SG：谷胱甘肽）NCs，构建了具有 2,6-吡啶二甲醛 (PDA) 的内簇交联系统，并获得了荧光 QY 高达 48%的水溶性金 NCs。这种实现高发射效率的方法可以扩展到其他具有核壳结构的发光金 NCs。我们的结果还表明，表面结合的 Au(I)-SG 配合物的含量对 PDA 诱导的发光增强有显著影响，并且高比例的 Au(I)-SG 将有利于提高金 NCs 的光致发光强度。
