Electrochemical Synthesis of Very Stable Photoluminescent Copper Clusters

Abstract

Small fluorescent atomic copper clusters, stabilized by tetrabutylammonium nitrate, have been synthesized by a simple electrochemical technique. These small clusters (Cu N , N < ≈14) show photoluminescence in the visible range with unusual high quantum yields (13%) and were characterized by UV−vis and fluorescence spectroscopies, LDI-TOF (laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight) mass spectroscopy, XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy), and TEM/HRTEM (high-resolution/transmission electron microscopy). Cu clusters are very stable and can be dispersed in both apolar and polar solvents, which makes them useful as very small building blocks, bringing new possibilities to construct novel nano/microstructures, with potential applications in fields such as biosensors, biomedicine, etc.

Microwave-assisted polyol synthesis of copper nanocrystals without using additional protective agents

“…These absorption bands are nearly consistent with those of other Cu NCs synthesized using different protective agents, at 212 nm, 231 nm, and 296 nm. 13 No localized surface plasmon peak was observed around 550 nm for the Cu NCs, which supports the theory that Cu NCs less than 3 nm in size were synthesized. 19 The Cu NCs in ethanol show a blue emission at 475 nm under 350 nm excitation (Fig.…”

“…Very recently, it was reported that Cu NCs (or Cu nanoclusters) with sizes less than 3 nm show molecular-like properties such as well-defined UV-vis absorption and photoluminescence. 12,13,15 Such molecular-like properties were also observed for the Cu NCs synthesized in this study. Fig.…”

Copper nanocluster-based fluorescent probe for hypochlorite

“…The HRTEM image shows that the crystal lattice fringes was 2.04 Å (Fig. 1b), which is attributed to the (111) planes of metallic Cu [20]. The observation suggests the successful preparation of Cu-NCs.…”

Formation of luminescent optical waveguides in silicate glass matrix by the ion-exchange technique

“…Полосы поглощения в спектральном интервале 300-500 нм могут быть связаны с образованием при ИО в стекле нейтральных субнаноразмерных МК меди. Так, в ряде работ показано, что нейтральные МК Cu n (n ≤ 8-14) в жидких средах имеют характерные полосы поглощения 212, 231, 285, 290, 364 и 443 нм [13][14][15]. Образование нейтральных МК меди в калиево-алюмоборатном стекле было отмечено в работе [16].…”

“…Данным люминесцентным центрам соответствует полоса возбуж-дения с максимумом на длине волны 300 нм. Коротковолновая полоса люминесценции связана с присут-ствием в стекле МК меди [14,30,31]. Этой полосе люминесценции также соответствует полоса возбуж-дения с максимумом на длине волны 300 нм.…”