Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Ions and Ionic Charges03:27

Ions and Ionic Charges

In ordinary chemical reactions, the nucleus — which contains the protons and neutrons of each atom and thus identifies the element — remains unchanged. Electrons, however, can be added to atoms by transfer from other atoms, lost by transfer to other atoms, or shared with other atoms. The transfer and sharing of electrons among atoms govern the chemistry of the elements. During the formation of some compounds, atoms gain or lose electrons to form electrically charged particles called ions.
Periodic Classification of the Elements04:00

Periodic Classification of the Elements

The periodic table arranges atoms based on increasing atomic number so that elements with the same chemical properties recur periodically. When their electron configurations are added to the table, a periodic recurrence of similar electron configurations in the outer shells of these elements is observed. Because they are in the outer shells of an atom, valence electrons play the most important role in chemical reactions. The outer electrons have the highest energy of the electrons in an atom...
Metallic Solids02:37

Metallic Solids

Metallic solids such as crystals of copper, aluminum, and iron are formed by metal atoms. The structure of metallic crystals is often described as a uniform distribution of atomic nuclei within a “sea” of delocalized electrons. The atoms within such a metallic solid are held together by a unique force known as metallic bonding that gives rise to many useful and varied bulk properties.
All metallic solids exhibit high thermal and electrical conductivity, metallic luster, and malleability. Many...
Formation of Complex Ions03:45

Formation of Complex Ions

A type of Lewis acid-base chemistry involves the formation of a complex ion (or a coordination complex) comprising a central atom, typically a transition metal cation, surrounded by ions or molecules called ligands. These ligands can be neutral molecules like H2O or NH3, or ions such as CN− or OH−. Often, the ligands act as Lewis bases, donating a pair of electrons to the central atom. These types of Lewis acid-base reactions are examples of a broad subdiscipline called coordination...
Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes02:58

Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes

Crystal Field Theory
To explain the observed behavior of transition metal complexes (such as colors), a model involving electrostatic interactions between the electrons from the ligands and the electrons in the unhybridized d orbitals of the central metal atom has been developed. This electrostatic model is crystal field theory (CFT). It helps to understand, interpret, and predict the colors, magnetic behavior, and some structures of coordination compounds of transition metals.
CFT focuses on...
Colors and Magnetism03:02

Colors and Magnetism

Color in Coordination Complexes
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human eye.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Phosphine-Functionalized Squaramides as Responsive Organogelators: Structure, Gelation, and Metal-Ion Sensing.

The Journal of organic chemistry·2026
Same author

Structurally Well-Defined Water-Soluble Gold Nanoclusters from Esterified Precursors and Their Photothermal Performance.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026
Same author

Golden immunity: gold complexes as emerging triggers of immunogenic cell death.

Chemical science·2026
Same author

Searching for Suitable [Cu(N^N){(PPh<sub>2</sub>)<sub>2</sub>C<sub>2</sub>B<sub>9</sub>H<sub>10</sub>}] Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescent Dopants: Optimization of the Quantum Yield through the 2-(4-Thiazolyl)benzimidazole Diimine Functionalization.

Inorganic chemistry·2026
Same author

Dual-Action NSAID-Gold(I) Alkynyl Hybrids for Synergistic Anti-Inflammatory and Anticancer Therapy of Colorectal Cancer.

Inorganic chemistry·2026
Same author

Ultrastable Copper Superatom.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Iridium(III) Luminescent Probe for Detection of the Malarial Protein Biomarker Histidine Rich Protein-II
12:52

Iridium(III) Luminescent Probe for Detection of the Malarial Protein Biomarker Histidine Rich Protein-II

Published on: July 7, 2015

Intensely luminescent gold(I)-silver(I) cluster complexes with tunable structural features.

Quan-Ming Wang1, Young-A Lee, Olga Crespo

  • 1Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, USA.

Journal of the American Chemical Society
|August 5, 2004
PubMed
Summary

New luminescent gold-silver clusters with a unique tetrahedron structure exhibit tunable emission colors from blue to orange, depending on the bridging chalcogen atom. This research introduces the first gold(I) oxo luminescent system.

More Related Videos

A Rapid and Quantitative Fluorimetric Method for Protein-Targeting Small Molecule Drug Screening
08:34

A Rapid and Quantitative Fluorimetric Method for Protein-Targeting Small Molecule Drug Screening

Published on: October 16, 2015

Luminophore Formation in Various Conformations of Bovine Serum Albumin by Binding of Gold(III)
08:26

Luminophore Formation in Various Conformations of Bovine Serum Albumin by Binding of Gold(III)

Published on: August 31, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Iridium(III) Luminescent Probe for Detection of the Malarial Protein Biomarker Histidine Rich Protein-II
12:52

Iridium(III) Luminescent Probe for Detection of the Malarial Protein Biomarker Histidine Rich Protein-II

Published on: July 7, 2015

A Rapid and Quantitative Fluorimetric Method for Protein-Targeting Small Molecule Drug Screening
08:34

A Rapid and Quantitative Fluorimetric Method for Protein-Targeting Small Molecule Drug Screening

Published on: October 16, 2015

Luminophore Formation in Various Conformations of Bovine Serum Albumin by Binding of Gold(III)
08:26

Luminophore Formation in Various Conformations of Bovine Serum Albumin by Binding of Gold(III)

Published on: August 31, 2018

Area of Science:

  • Inorganic Chemistry
  • Materials Science
  • Photochemistry

Background:

  • Gold(I) and silver(I) complexes are known for their interesting photophysical properties.
  • Metallophilicity, the attractive interaction between metal centers, plays a crucial role in the structure and luminescence of coinage metal complexes.
  • Group 16 elements (chalcogens) can act as bridging ligands, influencing the electronic and optical properties of metal clusters.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To synthesize and characterize a new series of isostructural gold-silver complexes.
  • To investigate the effect of different group-16 atoms (O, S, Se) on the luminescent properties of these complexes.
  • To explore the structural and photophysical characteristics of gold(I) oxo systems and their analogues.

Main Methods:

  • Synthesis and characterization of gold-silver complexes using techniques like X-ray crystallography.
  • Photoluminescence spectroscopy to study emission properties (energy, lifetime).
  • Variable temperature studies (frozen glass measurements) to probe excited states.

Main Results:

  • Successfully synthesized isostructural [Au3(mu3-E)Ag(PPh2py)3](BF4)2 complexes where E = O, S, Se.
  • Observed striking changes in emission energy (blue to orange) with the variation of the bridging chalcogen atom (O to Se).
  • Reported the first luminescence for a gold(I) oxo system (E=O).
  • Structural characterization revealed a Au3Ag tetrahedron core with unsupported aurophilic interactions in the solid state.
  • Luminescence lifetime measurements suggest a spin-forbidden nature for the excited state in E=S and E=Se systems.
  • Frozen glass measurements indicated a higher-energy emitting state for these systems.

Conclusions:

  • The emission energy of these gold-silver clusters is tunable by altering the bridging chalcogen atom, enabling color tuning.
  • The luminescence properties are attributed to ligand-to-metal-to-ligand charge transfer (LMMCT) or metal-centered cluster-based transitions.
  • These findings provide a foundation for designing novel luminescent materials based on polynuclear gold-silver complexes.