From intermediate capture to functional cluster construction: Synthesis of silver clusters and their Br−/I− sensing applications
(
), Huayan Yang1 ()Graphical Abstract
Abstract
In this study, the controlled synthesis of highly stable Ag56 clusters was achieved using 4-vinylbenzoic acid (p-VBA) and tert-butyl mercaptan as ligands by accurately tuning reaction parameters such as temperature and solvent. Additionally, intermediates Ag20, Ag31, Ag32, along with the dimers of Ag31/Ag32, Ag30-bpbenz (bpbenz: 1,4-di(4-pyridyl)benzene), and Ag31-bpe (bpe: 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)) were successfully captured. This series of nanoclusters exhibited a distinctive fluorescence aggregation-induced redshift phenomenon owing to the π–π interactions of the ligand. Additionally, the Ag56 nanocluster serves as a near-infrared fluorescence sensor for Br− and I−, with detection limits as low as 85 and 105 nM, respectively. This study offers new insights and methodologies for the synthesis of metal clusters and their applications in ion sensing.
Keywords
Electronic Supplementary Material
References
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