One-pot synthesis of water-dispersible Ag2S quantum dots with bright fluorescent emission in the second near-infrared window

The second near-infrared window (NIR-II, wavelength of 1.0–1.4 μm) is optimal for the bioimaging of live animals due to their low albedo and endogenous autofluorescence. Herein, we report a facile and one-pot biomimetic synthesis approach to prepare water-dispersible NIR-II-emitting ultrasmall Ag2S quantum dots (QDs). Photoluminescence spectra showed that the emission peaks could be tuned from 1294 to 1050 nm as the size of the Ag2S QDs varied from 6.8 to 1.6 nm. The x-ray diffraction patterns and x-ray photoelectron spectra confirmed that the products were monoclinic α-Ag2S. Fourier transform infrared spectrograph analysis indicated that the products were protein-conjugated Ag2S QDs. Examination of cytotoxicity and the hemolysis test showed that the obtained Ag2S QDs had good biocompatibility, indicating that such a nanomaterial could be a new kind of fluorescent label for in vivo imaging.