Lighting up thiolated Au@Ag nanoclusters via aggregation-induced emission

Abstract

A simple strategy has been developed to synthesize highly luminescent thiolated Au@Ag nanoclusters (NCs) by using Ag(I) ions to bridge small Au(I)-thiolate motifs on the weakly luminescent thiolated Au NCs, leading to the formation of large Au(I)/Ag(I)-thiolate motifs on the NC surface and thus generating strong luminescence via aggregation-induced emission.