TY - JOUR
T1 - Radioluminescent Cu-Au Metal Nanoclusters
T2 - Synthesis and Self-Assembly for Efficient X-ray Scintillation and Imaging
AU - Huang, Ren Wu
AU - Song, Xin
AU - Chen, Shulin
AU - Yin, Jun
AU - Maity, Partha
AU - Wang, Jiayi
AU - Shao, Bingyao
AU - Zhu, Hongwei
AU - Dong, Chunwei
AU - Yuan, Peng
AU - Ahmad, Taimoor
AU - Mohammed, Omar F.
AU - Bakr, Osman M.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 American Chemical Society
PY - 2023/6/28
Y1 - 2023/6/28
N2 - Zero-dimensional (0D) scintillation materials have drawn tremendous attention due to their inherent advantages in the fabrication of flexible high-energy radiation scintillation screens by solution processes. Although considerable progress has been made in the development of 0D scintillators, such as the current leading lead-halide perovskite nanocrystals and quantum dots, challenges still persist, including potential issues with self-absorption, air stability, and eco-friendliness. Here, we present a strategy to overcome those limitations by synthesis and self-assembly of a new class of scintillators based on metal nanoclusters. We demonstrate the gram-scale synthesis of an atomically precise nanocluster with a Cu-Au alloy core exhibiting high phosphorescence quantum yield, aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE) behavior, and intense radioluminescence. By controlling solvent interactions, the AIEE-active nanoclusters were self-assembled into submicron spherical superparticles in solution, which we exploited as a novel building block for flexible particle-deposited scintillation films with high-resolution X-ray imaging performance. This work reveals metal nanoclusters and their self-assembled superstructures as a promising class of scintillators for practical applications in high-energy radiation detection and imaging.
AB - Zero-dimensional (0D) scintillation materials have drawn tremendous attention due to their inherent advantages in the fabrication of flexible high-energy radiation scintillation screens by solution processes. Although considerable progress has been made in the development of 0D scintillators, such as the current leading lead-halide perovskite nanocrystals and quantum dots, challenges still persist, including potential issues with self-absorption, air stability, and eco-friendliness. Here, we present a strategy to overcome those limitations by synthesis and self-assembly of a new class of scintillators based on metal nanoclusters. We demonstrate the gram-scale synthesis of an atomically precise nanocluster with a Cu-Au alloy core exhibiting high phosphorescence quantum yield, aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE) behavior, and intense radioluminescence. By controlling solvent interactions, the AIEE-active nanoclusters were self-assembled into submicron spherical superparticles in solution, which we exploited as a novel building block for flexible particle-deposited scintillation films with high-resolution X-ray imaging performance. This work reveals metal nanoclusters and their self-assembled superstructures as a promising class of scintillators for practical applications in high-energy radiation detection and imaging.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85164211366&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/jacs.3c02612
DO - 10.1021/jacs.3c02612
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 37335564
AN - SCOPUS:85164211366
SN - 0002-7863
VL - 145
SP - 13816
EP - 13827
JO - Journal of the American Chemical Society
JF - Journal of the American Chemical Society
IS - 25
ER -