Temperature-Responsive Ratiometric Au Nanoclusters (NCs) Fabricated through α-Cyclodextrin-Protected Au NCs and Au@GSH NCs

Low color rendering indices (CRIs), distorted chromaticity, and monotonous luminescence seriously hinder the application of luminescent nanomaterials. In this case, Au nanoclusters (Au NCs) are promising candidates for the fabrication of luminescent sensing systems attributed to their excellent luminescent properties and ultrafine size. Here, we synthesized Au@alpha-CD NCs with blue fluorescence emission adopting the host macrocyclic molecule (6-SH-alpha-CD) as the ligand and matched it elaborately with orange phosphorescence-emissive Au@GSH NCs to fabricate multicolor tunable ratiometric Au NC luminescent systems. Accordingly, a standard white-light emission was successfully achieved with Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage located at (0.33, 0.33) and a CRI as high as 93. In view of the difference in temperature sensitivity between the lowest excited states of the two Au NCs, the ratiometric blending Au NCs moved from the 3500 K warm light region to 14400 K cold light region when the temperature varied from 0 to 70 degrees C, which played a role in monitoring temperature changes with the naked eye.

Automated summary

Au nanoclusters (Au NCs) were synthesized and matched with Au@GSH NCs to create a multicolor tunable luminescent system. The system achieved standard white-light emission with high CRI and could monitor temperature changes visually.