@article {162, title = {A Luminescent Cu4 Cluster Film Grown by Electrospray Deposition: A Nitroaromatic Vapour Sensor}, journal = {Nanoscale}, volume = {15}, year = {2023}, month = {04/2023}, pages = {8141-8147}, type = {Communication}, chapter = {8141}, abstract = {

We present the fabrication and use of a film of carborane-thiol protected tetranuclear copper cluster with characteristic orange luminescence using ambient electrospray deposition (ESD). Charged microdroplets of the clusters produced by an electrospray tip deposit clusters at an air-water interface to form a film. Different microscopic and spectroscopic techniques characterized the porous surface structure of the film. Visible and rapid quenching of the emission of the film upon exposure to 2-nitrotoluene (2-NT) vapours at ambient condition was observed. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations established the favourable binding sites of 2-NT with the cluster. Desorption of 2-NT upon heating recovered the original luminescence, demonstrating the reusability of the sensor. Stable emission upon exposure to different organic solvents and quenching of it upon the exposure to 2, 4-dinitrotoluene and picric acid showed selectivity of the film to nitroaromatic species.

}, keywords = {carborane, Copper, luminescence, nanocluster, nitro organic, sensor}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1039/D3NR00416C}, url = {https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2023/nr/d3nr00416c}, author = {Arijit Jana and B K Spoorthi and Akhil S Nair and Biswarup Pathak and Tomas Base and Thalappil Pradeep} } @article {157, title = {Light-Activated Intercluster Conversion of an Atomically Precise Silver Nanocluster}, journal = {ACS Nano}, volume = {15}, year = {2021}, pages = {15781-15793}, type = {Full Article}, abstract = {

Noble metal nanoclusters protected with carboranes, a 12-vertex, nearly icosahedral boron{\textendash}carbon framework system, have received immense attention due to their different physicochemical properties. We have synthesized ortho-carborane-1,2-dithiol (CBDT) and triphenylphosphine (TPP) coprotected [Ag42(CBDT)15(TPP)4]2{\textendash} (shortly Ag42) using a ligand-exchange induced structural transformation reaction starting from [Ag18H16(TPP)10]2+ (shortly Ag18). The formation of Ag42 was confirmed using UV{\textendash}vis absorption spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and multinuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Multiple UV{\textendash}vis optical absorption features, which exhibit characteristic patterns, confirmed its molecular nature. Ag42 is the highest nuclearity silver nanocluster protected with carboranes reported so far. Although these clusters are thermally stable up to 200 {\textdegree}C in their solid state, light-irradiation of its solutions in dichloromethane results in its structural conversion to [Ag14(CBDT)6(TPP)6] (shortly Ag14). Single crystal X-ray diffraction of Ag14 exhibits Ag8{\textendash}Ag6 core{\textendash}shell structure of this nanocluster. Other spectroscopic and microscopic studies also confirm the formation of Ag14. Time-dependent mass spectrometry revealed that this light-activated intercluster conversion went through two sets of intermediate clusters. The first set of intermediates, [Ag37(CBDT)12(TPP)4]3{\textendash} and [Ag35(CBDT)8(TPP)4]2{\textendash} were formed after 8 h of light irradiation, and the second set comprised of [Ag30(CBDT)8(TPP)4]2{\textendash}, [Ag26(CBDT)11(TPP)4]2{\textendash}, and [Ag26(CBDT)7(TPP)7]2{\textendash} were formed after 16 h of irradiation. After 24 h, the conversion to Ag14 was complete. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the kernel-centered excited state molecular orbitals of Ag42 are responsible for light-activated transformation. Interestingly, Ag42 showed near-infrared emission at 980 nm (1.26 eV) with a lifetime of \>1.5 μs, indicating phosphorescence, while Ag14 shows red luminescence at 626 nm (1.98 eV) with a lifetime of 550 ps, indicating fluorescence. Femtosecond and nanosecond transient absorption showed the transitions between their electronic energy levels and associated carrier dynamics. Formation of the stable excited states of Ag42 is shown to be responsible for the core transformation.

}, keywords = {carboranes silver nanoclusters intercluster conversion near-infrared emission luminescence ultrafast electron dynamics}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.1c02602}, url = {https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsnano.1c02602}, author = {Arijit Jana and Madhuri Jash and Ajay Kumar Poonia and Ganesan Paramasivam and Md Rabiul Islam and Papri Chakraborty and Sudhadevi Antharjanam and Jan Machacek and Sundargopal Ghosh and Kumaran Nair Valsala Devi Adarsh and Tomas Base and Thalappil Pradeep} }