Fluorescent or not? Size-dependent fluorescence switching for polymer-stabilized gold clusters in the 1.1-1.7 nm size range.
Schaeffer N., Tan B., Dickinson C., Rosseinsky MJ., Laromaine A., McComb DW., Stevens MM., Wang Y., Petit L., Barentin C., Spiller DG., Cooper AI., Lévy R.
The synthesis of fluorescent water-soluble gold nanoparticles by the reduction of a gold salt in the presence of a designed polymer ligand is described, the size and fluorescence of the particles being controlled by the polymer to gold ratio; the most fluorescent nanomaterial has a 3% quantum yield, a 1.1 nm gold core and a 6.9 nm hydrodynamic radius.