In Situ Assembly of Au Nanoclusters within Protein Hydrogel Networks

We report a new approach of in situ assembling gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) into hydrogel networks by exploiting the triple roles of protein as a gelator, a reducing agent as well as a template. The strategy simply involves the mixing of BSA and AuCl₄^- under alkaline condition. The obtained AuNCs-protein nanocomposite hydrogels with injectable and moldable features can be made into semi-transparent films or N-doped C/Au composites. Our work demonstrates the feasibility of fabricating AuNCs in situ embedded in hybrid hydrogels, which can serve as multifunctional precursors for constructing diverse nanocomposite materials.