Copper nanoclusters: designed synthesis, structural diversity, and multiplatform applications

Abstract

Atomically precise metal nanoclusters (MNCs) have gained a tremendous research interest in recent years due to their extraordinary properties. The molecular-like properties that originate from the quantized electronic states provide...

Aggregation‐induced emission of copper nanoclusters

“…The light‐emitting Cu NCs have already attracted plenty of attention as summarized in several recent reviews. [ 13,14 ] The emission of Cu NCs is indeed an attractive property, as it offers an avenue to further develop them into luminescent components for such diverse applications as chemical sensing, bioimaging, anticounterfeiting, and even optoelectronic devices. [ 15–18 ] Compared with conventional luminescent materials, such as organic dyes and semiconductor quantum dots, Cu NCs possess advantages of ultra‐small size combined with reasonable photostability, large Stokes shift, and long emission lifetimes.…”

“…[19,20] However, their PL quantum yields (QY) are still not competitive with those conventional luminescent materials, and their wider applications have been limited by poor stability caused by the easy oxidation of Cu. [13,15,21] Fortunately, the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) phenomenon has provided a powerful approach to enhance the emission efficiency (and to some extent improve the stability) of Cu NCs. [22][23][24][25] The restriction of intramolecular motion (RIM) is the widely accepted reason for the AIE phenomenon to occur.…”

“…The review starts with a summary on the current understanding of PL mechanisms of Cu NCs and proceeds with the analysis of contributions of Cu metalcore and organic ligands to AIE-related properties. Note that we do not consider in detail practical applications of Cu NC AIEgens, as those are already available in a number of topical reviews, [13,14,19,20] but some examples of those are provided. We end this review by offering some concluding remarks and our own perspective on the active field of AIE of Cu NCs, with a hope to promote further research on the fundamental aspects of this useful phenomenon.…”

Synthesis of Copper Nanocluster and Its Application in Pollutant Analysis

“…With the help of various functional ligands, it is possible to tune their emission wavelengths and obtain highly photoluminescent nanoclusters, providing potential for large-scale applications. More importantly, Cu NCs possess additional merits over other noble metal clusters with their excellent biocompatibility [ 5 , 6 ]. The fluorescent probes based on Cu NCs have demonstrated their versatility in sensing, lighting and bioimaging in clinical diagnosis and treatment [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ].…”

Self-assembly of copper nanoclusters: isomeric ligand effect on morphological evolution

“…Photoluminescence (PL) of atomically precise metal NCs is the prime property for optoelectronic and biomedical applications, which are governed by the metal-core and ligand shell. [27][28][29][30][31] The assembly-induced emission is applied as phosphors to fabricate LEDs generated from strong metallophilic interaction depending on their packing. The relaxation dynamics of the excited state of the NCs controls by the ligand-ligand, ligandmetal, and metal-metal interaction.…”