Water-in-oil microemulsion preparation and characterization of Cs2[Mo6X14]@SiO2 phosphor nanoparticles based on transition metal clusters (X = Cl, Br, and I)

Monodisperse Cs2Mo6X14@SiO2 (X = Cl, Br, I) luminescent nanoparticles are synthesized by a water-in-oil microemulsion technique. They emit in the red and near-infrared window (600-900 nm), a region of interest for bio-imaging technologies. Microscopy studies (SEM, TEM and HAADF-STEM, see figure) show a good dispersion of the [Mo6X14](2-) anions within the @SiO2 nanoparticles and that the nanoparticles are homogeneous with a regular spherical shape of 45 nm diameter.