Bright and stable gold nanocluster assemblies by silica/zirconia double-shell encapsulation

Funding Information: This work was carried out under the Academy of Finland Center of Excellence Program (2022-2029) in Life-Inspired Hybrid Materials (LIBER) (project number 346109), Academy Project (310799) and Academy Postdoctoral Research Grant (13332370). We also acknowledge the provision of facilities and technical support by the OtaNano Nanomicroscopy Center of Aalto University (Aalto NMC). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Royal Society of ChemistryUltrasmall gold nanoclusters are fascinating fluorescent materials with many unique properties, yet, to render them highly luminescent and stable remains challenging. In this work, solvent-induced aggregates of gold nanoclusters are encapsulated in silica/zirconia nanostructures, realizing a significantly enhanced photoluminescence efficiency and stability. These silica and zirconia coated gold nanocluster aggregates achieved a photoluminescence quantum yield of ∼55%, with high resistance to photobleaching and water, due to the stabilization by the dual-oxide matrix. Furthermore, we demonstrate their suitability for visualizing latent fingerprints.Peer reviewe