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Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Phase-Dependent Control of Trap Depth and Persistent Luminescence in Strontium Aluminate Phosphors
Published on: December 5, 2025
Unlocking luminescence by decoupling quenching vibrations in Au21SR17 nanoclusters: backbone flexibility versus
Shuyi He1, Qiang Ding2, Yinghao Wu3
1College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong Sino-Japanese Center for Collaborative Research of Carbon Nanomaterials, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, P. R. China. chenjishi@qdu.edu.cn.
None:
We designed a vibrationally decoupled model system, the non-emissive Au21Cys17, featuring a structurally identified flexible Au4S5 segment exclusively within its backbone. Glycerol switched on its emission via a dual mechanism: local hydrogen-bonding that rigidifies the flexible Au4S5 segment at low concentration and bulk viscous damping of ligand vibrations that dominates at high concentrations. The emissive Au22SG18, lacking such a flexible site, responds only to viscosity. This work provides the first direct experimental discrimination between backbone- and ligand-dominated quenching pathways and establishes site-specific staple rigidity as a critical design principle for luminescent nanomaterials.
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