Highly luminescent Ag+ nanoclusters for Hg2+ ion detection.

A simple, low-cost and label-free Hg(2+) ion sensor has been developed by using novel luminescent Ag(+) nanoclusters (NCs) with an excellent optical property (quantum yield = 15%), an ultra-high ratio of active Ag(+) species in the NC surface (~100%), and an ultra-short diffusion path length of Hg(2+) ions to access the NC surface (~0.5 nm). This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2012