1690-Fold enhanced electrochemiluminescence of gold nanoclusters <i>via</i> Zn <sup>2+</sup> induced aggregation
Herein, a zinc ion (Zn<sup>2+</sup>)-induced aggregation strategy is proposed for 1690-fold enhanced electrochemiluminescence (ECL) from d-penicillamine (DPA)-capped gold nanoclusters (AuNCs), and the aggregation-induced ECL (AIECL) is a multiplicative effect of two enhancing factors. One is the improved ligand rigidification of Zn<sup>2+</sup>-induced aggregation of AuNCs, <i>i.e.</i> Zn<sup>2+</sup>-AuNCs. The Zn<sup>2+</sup> of Zn<sup>2+</sup>-AuNCs can reduce the vibration and rotation of DPA, suppress non-radiative decay, and result in ∼17-fold enhanced emission with photoluminescence (PL) as control. The other is the promoted electron transfer by Zn<sup>2+</sup>-DPA bonds, which can enhance charge annihilation with the assistance of energy level alignment between AuNCs and the Zn<sup>2+</sup>-DPA bond, further amplifying ECL by another ∼100-fold. The dual-enhanced AIECL strategy can be utilized to design even brighter ECL luminophores.
Authors
- Xiaoxuan Ren (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0056-0716)
- Xuwen Gao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0281-0141)
- Guizheng Zou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3295-3848)
- Yujiao Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4102-5804)
- Qinghe Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2429-4050)
Institutions
- Shandong University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Chemical Science
- Published
- 2025-01-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1039/d5sc06929g
- Primary Topic
- Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province