Self-Assembly-Driven Aggregation-Induced Emission of Silver Nanoclusters for Light Conversion and Temperature Sensing

Supramolecular self-assembly is an effective method for constructing complex ordered aggregates with specific functions by noncovalent bonding. However, silver nanoclusters (NCs) have rarely been explored in the self-assembly of nanoscale building blocks, and the noncovalent forces (electrostatic, hydrogen-bonding, π–π-stacking interactions, etc.) and argentophilic interactions [Ag(I)···Ag(I)] are crucial in directing to the supramolecular self-assembly of Ag(I) compounds. Here, we used silver NCs (Ag9-NCs, [Ag9(mba)9], where H2mba = 2-mercaptobenzoic acid) as the model cluster to interact with succinic acid (SA) to construct a nanofiber structure. The formation of highly ordered nanofibers is the result of SA-modified peripheral ligands of Ag9-NCs. Under the action of noncovalent forces (hydrogen-bonding, π–π-stacking, and hydrophobic interactions), the reconstruction of this ordered structure not only increases the content of Ag(I) species in the protective shell of Ag9-NCs but also provides the possibility for directional argentophilic interactions [Ag(I)···Ag(I)]. More interestingly, the compact structure and effective argentophilic interactions in the nanofibers synergistically achieve aggregation-induced emission, thereby inducing the emission of phosphorescence, which can be used as a temperature-controlled detector. Moreover, the orange-red Ag9-NCs/SA xerogels, together with commercial phosphor, can also be used as a phosphor to produce white-light-emitting-diode color conversion materials.