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Towards Implementation of Metal Nanoclusters as Luminescent Probes for Detection of Single-Particle Dynamics: "Watching Nanoscale Dynamics Unfold"

Thesis advisor: John T. Fourkas / One can extract a tremendous amount of information about the organizational and dynamic states of molecules, in situ and in real-time, through highly sensitive and noninvasive single particle optical probing. The highly efficient, multi-photon excited luminescence from stabilized metal nanoclusters renders these species useful as optical probes that can be used in detecting single particle and molecular dynamics. We generate stable, and monodisperse samples of Ag nanoclusters as small as 1 nm in diameter, and find that through substitution of various stabilizer molecules we can precisely tune the size of the clusters over a 1-6 nm range of diameters, ensuring monodispersity and stability at every stage. These clusters also exhibit highly efficient, polarized luminescence upon two photon excitation at 800 nm and remain highly photostable, not exhibiting the deleterious blinking that occurs with many single-molecule fluorophores. In order to demonstrate the utility of these clusters as single-molecule probes, we track their emission polarization over long periods in deeply supercooled liquids such as 4'(octahydro-4,7-methano-5H-inden-5-yliden) bisphenol dimethyl ether (ODE). Our results suggest that these clusters can detect nanoscale dynamics with high sensitivity. / Thesis (BS) — Boston College, 2004. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Chemistry. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:BOSTON/oai:dlib.bc.edu:bc-ir_102356
Date January 2004
CreatorsKempa, Thomas
PublisherBoston College
Source SetsBoston College
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeText, thesis
Formatelectronic, application/pdf
RightsCopyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted.

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