Abstract
DNA-stabilized silver nanoclusters (DNA-AgNCs) are easily tunable emitters with intriguing photophysical properties. Here, a DNA-AgNC with dual emission in the red and near-infrared (NIR) regions is presented. Mass spectrometry data showed that two DNA strands stabilize 18 silver atoms with a nanocluster charge of 12+. Besides determining the composition and charge of DNA2[Ag18]12+, steady-state and time-resolved methods were applied to characterize the picosecond red fluorescence and the relatively intense microsecond-lived NIR luminescence. During this process, the luminescence-to-fluorescence ratio was found to be excitation-intensity-dependent. This peculiar feature is very rare for molecular emitters and allows the use of DNA2[Ag18]12+ as a nanoscale excitation intensity probe. For this purpose, calibration curves were constructed using three different approaches based either on steady-state or time-resolved emission measurements. The results showed that processes like thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) or photon upconversion through triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA) could be excluded for DNA2[Ag18]12+. We, therefore, speculate that the ratiometric excitation intensity response could be the result of optically activated delayed fluorescence.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e202309760 |
| Journal | Angewandte Chemie - International Edition |
| Volume | 62 |
| Issue number | 39 |
| Early online date | 2023 Aug 14 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2023 |
Subject classification (UKÄ)
- Physical Chemistry (including Surface- and Colloid Chemistry)
- Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics