Co-crystallization induced emission in Ag-Au bimetal nanocluster

In this work, for the first time we report the co-crystallization induced emission phenomenon in the co crystallization of two atomically precise and different size nanlclusters, a fusiform Ag26Au(2-EBT)(18)(PPh3)(6) and a spherical Ag24Au(2-EBT)(18) (2-EBT = 2-Ethylbenzenethiol), characterized by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. A plausible explanation for this interesting phenomenon is that noncovalent interactions (such as pi center dot center dot center dot pi and C-H center dot center dot center dot pi interactions) in crystalline state of nanoclusters significantly restrict the intraand inter-molecular vibrations and thus result in considerably enhance the radiative transitions in the crystalline state.

Automated summary

This work reports the phenomenon of co-crystallization induced emission in two atomically precise and different size nanoclusters for the first time, characterized by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. The enhanced radiative transitions in the crystalline state are attributed to the significant restriction of intra- and inter-molecular vibrations by noncovalent interactions in the nanoclusters' crystalline state.