Tuning of silver cluster emission from blue to red using a bio-active peptide in water

Blue, green, and red emitting silver quantum clusters have been prepared through green chemical approach by using a bio-active peptide glutathione (reduced) in a 50 mM phosphate buffer at pH 7.46. This study describes fluorescence emission tuning of the silver clusters by making different sized Ag clusters using slightly different reaction conditions keeping the same stabilizing ligand, reducing agent, solvent system, and silver salt precursor. The preparation procedure of these silver quantum clusters is new and highly reproducible. Each of these clusters shows very interesting fluorescence properties with large stokes shifts, and the quantum yields of blue, green, and red clusters are 2.08%, 0.125%, and 1.39%, respectively. These silver quantum clusters have been characterized by using different techniques including fluorescence spectroscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, field-emission gun transmission electron microscopic (FEG-TEM) imaging and MALDI-TOF MS analyses. MALDI-TOF MS analyses show that the size of these blue, green and red emitting silver clusters are Ag5 (NC1, nanoclusters 1), Ag8 (NC2, nanoclusters 2) and Ag13 (NC3, nanoclusters 3), respectively, by using 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid as a matrix. These clusters are stable in broad ranges of pH. The NC3 (red emitting) has been successfully utilized for selective and sensitive detection of toxic Hg(II) ions in water by using even naked eyes, fluorometric, and calorimetric studies. The lower limit of detection of Hg(II) ions in water has been estimated to be 126 and 245 nM from fluorometric and UV-vis analyses, respectively. Enthalpy change (ΔH) during this Hg(II) sensing process is 2508 KJ mol(-1).