Unusual fluorescence enhancement of a novel carbazolyldiacetylene bound to gold nanoparticles

Chiral Hydride Cu18 Clusters Transform to Superatomic Cu15Ag4 Clusters: Circularly Polarized Luminescence Lighting

The manipulation of metal cluster enantiomers and their reconstruction remain challenging. Here, for the first time, we report an enantiomeric pair of hydride copper clusters [Cu18H(R/S-PEA)12](BF4)5 (R/S-Cu18H) made using designed chiral ligands. By manipulation of R/S-Cu18H with Ag+ ions, H- ions are released, leading to the reconstruction of 15 Cu atoms. Moreover, 4 Ag atoms replaced Cu atoms at the specific sites, resulting in the formation of homochiral [Cu15Ag4(R/S-PEA)12](BF4)5 (R/S-Cu15Ag4) with an isomorphic metal skeleton. This process was accompanied by a reduction reaction generating two free valence elections in the chiral alloying counterparts, which displayed orange emission. The solid-state R/S-Cu15Ag4 exhibited a photoluminescence quantum yield of 7.02% and excellent circularly polarized luminescence. The chiral transformations were resolved by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The development of chiral copper hydride precursor-based metal clusters with chiroptical activities holds tremendous promise for advancing the field of optoelectronics and enabling new applications in lighting, displays, and beyond.

Alkynyl-Stabilized Superatomic Silver Clusters Showing Circularly Polarized Luminescence

We report a new enantiomeric pair of superatomic silver clusters, R/S-Ag₁₇, prepared from chiral alkynyl ligands. R-Ag₁₇ and S-Ag₁₇ possess C₃ symmetry and emit near-infrared (NIR) light with a quantum yield (QY) of 8.0% under ambient condition as well as NIR circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) as a result of the chirality of the excited states. Both experiments and theoretical calculations indicate for the first time that the CPL originates from transitions between superatomic 1P_z (along the C₃ axis) and 1S orbitals. This work opens a new avenue for CPL-active metal nanoclusters by utilizing chiral alkynyl ligands and enlightens the chirality transfer from chiral protecting ligands to superatomic states in metal clusters.

AIEE-Active and Electrochromic Bifunctional Polymer and a Device Composed thereof Synchronously Achieve Electrochemical Fluorescence Switching and Electrochromic Switching

A novel alternating polymer, ProDOT-TPE, with aggregation-enhanced fluorescent emission and electrochromic properties based on thiophene and tetraphenylethene derivatives was designed, synthesized, and characterized. The polymer displays weak photoluminescence in tetrahydrofuran, but its corresponding film prepared by spray-coating exhibits yellow-green fluorescent light at 540 nm. The color of the polymer film could be switched from bright yellow to navy blue by applying a relatively low voltage. An electrochromic device (ECD) of the polymer was fabricated that differs from common ECDs because both its color and fluorescent state could be synchronously switched by an applied voltage, making the polymer a unique candidate for electrochemical fluorescence and electrochromic applications.

An eco-friendly synthesis of novel 3,5-disubstituted-1,2-isoxazoles in PEG-400, employing the Et3N-promoted hydroamination of symmetric and unsymmetric 1,3-diyne-indole derivatives

PEG-400 proved to be a useful solvent for the mild and efficient synthesis of 3,5-disubstituted 1,2-isoxazoles derived from 1,3-diyne indoles. The scope and limitations of the reaction were also studied.

Emission enhancement of a carbazole-based fluorophore on a quantum dot surface

A novel carbazole-based fluorophore 5-(carbazol-9-yl)-5'-mercapto-2,2'-bithiophene (CBTSH) was synthesized. CBTSH exhibited emission enhancement when attached to the surface of CdSe quantum dots (QDs). The emission quantum yield of CBTSH attached to CdSe is almost 5 times larger than that of CBTSH alone. The emission enhancement of CBTSH on the CdSe surface is due to the restriction on the rotational and vibrational motions of the carbazolylbithienyl unit as a result of QD aggregation.

A dual sensor of fluorescent and colorimetric for the rapid detection of lead

This study demonstrated a simple and reliable method to rapidly detect Pb(2+) in aqueous solution, exploiting gold nanoparticles as a lead ion probe; the results indicated that the dual channels sensor showed high selectivity and sensitivity for Pb(2+) as low as ppm levels in aqueous environment.

Effect of Gold Nanoparticles on Fluorescence Properties of Hyperbranched Poly(amido amine)s

Hyperbranched poly (amino amine) s (HPAMAMs), synthesized by Michael addition of 1-(2-aminoethyl) piperazine (AEPZ) and methyl acrylate (MA), can emit blue fluorescence under excitation wavelength. However, the relatively weak fluorescence of HPAMAMs is still an obstacle for its practical applications. Gold is one of the most frequently used metals for fluorescence enhancement. In this research, the influence of gold nanoparticles on fluorescence property of HPAMAMs was investigated by fluorometry. It was found that gold nanoparticles (GNPs) with smaller size (< 5 nm) presented greatly enhanced emission. The GNPs with larger size (~10 nm in diameter) and definite surface plasmon absorption can quench the fluorescence of HPAMAMs.

Aggregation-enhanced emission in gold nanoparticles protected by tetradentate perylene derivative

Three novel gold nanoparticle (AuNPs) composites protected by perylene bisimide derivatives have been designed and synthesized. Thanks to the rational molecular design, AuNPs capped by N,N'-2,6-bis(4-aminomethylpyridine)-1,6,7,13-tert-[4-(hydroxymethyl)phenoxy-5-(1,2-dithiolan-3-yl)pentanoate]-3,4,9,10- tetracarboxylic acid bisimide (8SP-AuNPs) exhibited unusual enhancement in fluorescence intensity, while the other two nanoparticle composites showed slight enhancement or quench in emission spectra. The structural effect of ligands on aggregation enhanced emission had been studied, and temperature dependence experiments had been conducted. Deductive explanation had been made to elucidate the special spectral behavior of 8SP-AuNPs led by restricted motion of perylene chromophores in the packed nanoclusters.

Large third-order optical nonlinear effects of gold nanoparticles with unusual fluorescence enhancement

The third-order nonlinear optical properties of two solutions of gold nanoparticles protected by carbazolyldiacetylene derivatives were investigated using the Z-scan technique. Both gold nanoparticle colloid solutions in toluene show unusual fluorescent enhancement and large third-order nonlinear optical properties including nonlinear absorption and refractive effects. When extending the pi-conjugated length of the ligands, the third-order nonlinear properties of composite materials based on gold nanoparticles were enhanced accordingly.

Fluorescence and electrochemiluminescence of luminol-reduced gold nanoparticles: photostability and platform effect

Water-soluble gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) capped with both fluorescent (FL) 3-aminophthalate (APA) and electrochemiluminescent (ECL) luminol molecules were described in our previous work. The synthetic and characteristic efforts of these functionalized AuNPs (lumAuNPs) were subsequently followed by investigations of their FL and ECL properties, as reported in the present work. It was observed that the FL intensity of a single gold nanoparticle was 70 times brighter than that of one free APA molecule, even though 91% of the FL emission of APA molecules on the surfaces of AuNPs was inhibited by gold cores through both intra- and interparticle quenching effects. Moreover, the photobleaching of surface-bound APA molecules was found to be dramatically inhibited compared with that of free ones in carbonate buffer. The improvement of photostability was attributed to the reactive AuNPs which acted as radical scavengers to protect the surface-bound APA molecules from oxidation by carbonate radicals. Furthermore, as-prepared lumAuNPs could react with cysteine to produce strong electrochemiluminescence, which was enhanced by 20-fold compared with that in the absence of cysteine. The experimental results suggested that luminol and cysteine were coadsorbed on the gold nanoparticle platform via Au-N and Au-S interactions, respectively. The shorter distance between reactant molecules by overcoming the electrostatic repulsion, that is, platform effect, was proposed to be responsible for the ECL enhancement. Combined with the biocompatibility of gold cores, the brighter FL emission, enhanced photostability, and stronger ECL intensity may make as-prepared lumAuNPs promising FL and ECL biomarkers for their applications in biosensors and bioimaging.

Enhanced resonance light scattering properties of gold nanoparticles due to cooperative binding

The interaction of 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid capped gold nanoparticles (MUA-GNPs) with europium ions and aminoacids has been studied by UV-Vis spectrophotometry, fluorescence, confocal fluorescence microscopy, resonance light scattering and TEM. Results demonstrated that hyper-Rayleigh scattering emission occurs upon the addition of lysine to the MUA-GNPs-Eu(III) system, thus providing an inherently sensitive method for lysine determination. The effects of geometrical factors of the gold nanoparticles (aspect ratio, particle size, cluster formation) and the surrounding medium (pH) on this behavior are discussed. The cooperative binding interactions of Eu(3+) and lysine with gold nanoparticles permitted the discrimination of lysine from other amino acids. The probable mechanism for the spectral changes and the enhanced resonance light scattering observed is outlined.