Issue 47, 2019

An overview on the current understanding of the photophysical properties of metal nanoclusters and their potential applications

Abstract

Photophysics of atomically precise metal nanoclusters (MNCs) is an emerging area of research due to their potential applications in optoelectronics, photovoltaics, sensing, bio-imaging and catalysis. An overview of the recent advances in the photophysical properties of MNCs is presented in this review. To begin with, we illustrate general synthesis methodologies of MNCs using direct reduction, chemical etching, ligand exchange, metal exchange and intercluster reaction. Due to strong quantum confinement, the NCs possess unique electronic properties such as discrete optical absorption, intense photoluminescence (PL), molecular-like electron dynamics and non-linear optical behavior. Discussions have also been carried out to unveil the influence of the core size, nature of ligands, heteroatom doping, and surrounding environments on the optical absorption and photophysical properties of metal clusters. Recent findings reveal that the excited-state dynamics, nonlinear optical properties and aggregation induced emission of metal clusters offer exciting opportunities for potential applications. We discuss briefly about their versatile applications in optoelectronics, sensing, catalysis and bio-imaging. Finally, the future perspective of this research field is given.

Graphical abstract: An overview on the current understanding of the photophysical properties of metal nanoclusters and their potential applications

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
16 Sep 2019
Accepted
28 Oct 2019
First published
29 Oct 2019

Nanoscale, 2019,11, 22685-22723

An overview on the current understanding of the photophysical properties of metal nanoclusters and their potential applications

S. Maity, D. Bain and A. Patra, Nanoscale, 2019, 11, 22685 DOI: 10.1039/C9NR07963G

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