Sonochemical Synthesis of Highly Fluorescent Ag Nanoclusters

Highly fluorescent, stable, water-soluble Ag nanoclusters have been successfully prepared via a convenient sonochemical approach using a simple polyelectrolyte, polymethylacrylic acid (PMAA), as a capping agent. The optical and fluorescence properties of the Ag nanoclusters can be easily controlled by varying the synthetic conditions, such as sonication time, stoichiometry of the carboxylate groups to Ag(+), and polymer molecular weight.