Record-high hyperpolarizabilities in atomically precise single metal-doped silver nanoclusters†

Recent developments in optical imaging techniques, particularly multi-photon excitation microscopy that allows studies of biological interactions at a deep cellular level, have motivated intensive research in developing multi-photon absorption fluorophores. Biological tissues are optically transparent in the near-infrared region. Therefore, fluorophores that can absorb light in the near-infrared (NIR) region by multi-photon absorption are particularly useful in bio-imaging. For instance, photoluminescence from ligand-protected gold nanoclusters has drawn extensive research interest in the past decade due to their bright, non-blinking, stable emission and tunability from the blue to the NIR emission. In this work, using the control of single metal doping on silver nanoclusters (Ag₂₅ protected by thiolate SR = 2,4-dimethylbenzenethiol (DMBT) ligand), we aim to explore the effects of metal doping on the (photo)stability and nonlinear optical response of liganded nanoclusters. We study two-photon excited photoluminescence and the second harmonic response upon excitation in the NIR (780–950 nm) range. Particular emphasis is placed on the effect of metal doping on the second-order nonlinear optical scattering properties (first hyperpolarizability, β(2ω)) of Ag₂₅ nanoclusters. In addition, β(2ω) values are one order higher than the one reported for Au₂₅ nanoclusters and represent the largest values ever reported for ligand-protected nanoclusters. Such enhanced hyperpolarizability leads to a strong second harmonic response and renders them attractive targets in bioimaging.