In the sunlight (oil phase), the Morning Stars (the Ag29 nanoclusters) shine brightly, but when night falls (aqueous phase transfer), the stars may lose their luster (photoluminescence quenching). Yet, there are always some special stars. When they come together (supramolecular recoupling), they become the shining Big Dipper (emission recovery) for guiding the direction (downstream hydrophilic applications). Details of the research are reported by Xi Kang, Wenxiong Shi, Manzhou Zhu et al. (e202317995).
Published in: "Angewandte Chemie International Edition".