Switchable Dual-Emissive DNA-Stabilized Silver Nanoclusters

We investigated an ss-DNA sequence that can stabilize a red- and a green-emissive silver nanocluster (DNA-AgNC). These two emitters can convert between each other in a reversible way. The change from red- to green-emitting DNA-AgNCs can be triggered by the addition of H2O2, while the opposite conversion can be achieved by the addition of NaBH4. Besides demonstrating the switching between red- and green-emissive DNA-AgNCs and determining the recoverability, we fully characterized the photophysical properties, such as steady-state emission, quantum yield, fluorescence lifetime, and anisotropy of the two emissive species. Understanding the mechanism behind the remarkable conversion between the two emitters could lead to the development of a new range of DNA-AgNC-based ratiometric sensors.