Abstract
Weakly fluorescent AuAg nanoclusters were obtained from glutathione, chloroauric acid, and silver nitrate aqueous solution under a modified hydrothermal method. Such glutathione-capped synergistically evolved clusters were obtained for the first time by employing our experimental conditions. Such weak fluorescence was made significantly brighter by employing Na(+) and a Na(+) sensor was obtained with a linear detection range of 10(-5)-5 × 10(-9) M, while the limit of detection was 1.02 × 10(-6) M. Na(+) made the GSH matrix positively charged to stabilize AuAg clusters resulting in strong emissive properties. Furthermore, the effect of solvents, sunlight exposure, and temperature was gauged. Estimation of Na(+) concentration was undertaken for natural water samples to demonstrate the practical utility of the designed nanosensor.