Heterogeneous Solvatochromism of Fluorescent DNA-Stabilized Silver Clusters Precludes Use of Simple Onsager-Based Stokes Shift Models

The diverse optical and chemical properties of DNA-stabilized silver clusters (AgN-DNAs) have challenged the development of a common model for these sequence-tunable fluorophores. Although correlations between cluster geometry and fluorescence color have begun to shed light on how the optical properties of AgN-DNAs are selected, the exact mechanisms responsible for fluorescence remain unknown. To explore these mechanisms, we study four distinct purified AgN-DNAs in ethanol–water and methanol–water mixtures and find that the solvatochromic behavior of AgN-DNAs varies widely among different cluster species and differs markedly from prior results on impure material. Placing AgN-DNAs within the context of standard Lippert–Mataga solvatochromism models based on the Onsager reaction field, we show that such nonspecific solvent models are not universally applicable to AgN-DNAs. Instead, alcohol-induced solvatochromism of AgN-DNAs may be governed by changes in hydration of the DNA template, with spectral shifts r...