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Penicillamine-protected Ag20 nanoclusters and fluorescence chemosensing for trace detection of copper ions
Xianhu Liu1, Weihua Ding2, Yishi Wu2
1State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China. zxluo@iccas.ac.cn hongbing.fu@iccas.ac.cn and Department of Chemistry, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei, Anhui 235000, P. R. China.
Abstract:
We report the synthesis of penicillamine-protected Ag20 nanoclusters (NCs), with properties of high monodispersity, red fluorescence and water solubility. Full characterization of the Ag20 NCs is addressed, along with first-principles optimization calculations, revealing the chemical composition and structure of the as-prepared Ag NCs within a molecular formula [Ag20(DPA)18-H]-. Moreover, natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis demonstrates the charge-transfer interactions between the ligand and Ag atoms, and helps in understanding the origins of fluorescence of Ag20 NCs related to the ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) mechanism. Further, fluorescence chemosensing of the Ag20 NCs is demonstrated for tracing copper ions with high sensitivity and selectivity in aqueous solution.
