Soft-chemical synthesis and photoluminescence studies of poly-(vinyl) alcohol-stabilized (Ag)N±10(N=82–3049) nanoclusters

A soft-chemical synthesis technique and structural investigation of poly-(vinyl) alcohol (PVA)-stabilized (Ag)N±10(N=82–3049atoms) nanoclusters has been reported. PVA capped spherical silver nanoclusters with an average size of 3–10 nm were synthesized by a modified chemical reduction technique using NaBH4 as reductant, PVA as a stabilizer and AgClO4 as the source for the Ag4+ ion. The formation of polymer protected metal nanoclusters was monitored by the UV–vis spectroscopy and was confirmed by the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images of the resultant product. Structural features of a single (Ag)382±10 nanocluster have been investigated by high-resolution TEM and fast-Fourier transform techniques. Optical properties of these nanoclusters have been investigated by photoluminescence spectroscopy. Cluster-size was found to have great influence on the optical property of polymer protected nanoclusters.