Cadmium chalcogenide nanoparticles and clusters (e.g. CdS, CdSe) have attracted much interest because of their prominent photoluminescence (PL) properties arising from the semiconductor character.  We take notice of organic-functionalized clusters derived from neutral clusters �Cd10E4(SPh)12� (E = S, Se) and have studied their PL response towards the recognition-based guest binding events at the organic-inorganic interface.  In this study we show that water-soluble clusters having an inner alky-chain layer and outer PEG layer exhibit selective turn-on PL responses to lipophilic phenols such as bisphenol A and 4-nonylphenol in aqueous media.  The results of control experiments revealed that the PL response arises from guest accommodation near the inorganic core through the hydrophobic interaction and hydrogen bonding interaction involving the phenolic OH group.  We also report the results of studies on the factors that affect the optical properties and responses to the organic guest molecules.

Interaction of organic-functionalized luminescent cadmium chalcogenide clusters with small organic molecules in water

244th National Meeting (2012)

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