Design of a fluorescent and clickable Ag(SRN) nanocluster platform: synthesis, modeling and self-assembling

Fluorescent atomically precise Ag 38 (11-azido-2-ol-undecane-thiolate) 24 nanoclusters are easily prepared using sodium ascorbate as a "green" reducer and are extensively characterized by way of elemental analyses, ATR-FTIR, XRD, SAXS, UV-vis, fluorescence spectroscopies, and theoretical modeling. The fluorescence and the atomically determined stoichiometry and structure, the facile and environmentally green synthesis, together with the novel presence of terminal azido groups in the ligands which opens the way to "click"-binding a wide set of molecular species, make Ag 38 (11-azido-2-ol-undecane-thiolate) 24 nanoclusters uniquely appealing systems for biosensing, recognition and functionalization in biomedicine applications and in catalysis. Fluorescent Ag 38 (SRN 3 ) 24 nanoclusters with the novel presence of terminal azido groups for easily "click"-binding a wide set of molecular species and their self-assembling in lamellar and hexagonal superstructures permeated by nanoregion defects.