In most cases of semiconductor quantum dot nanocrystals, the inherent optical and electrochemical properties of these interesting nanomaterials do not translate into expected efficient electrochemiluminescence or electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) because of the surface-state induction effect. Thus, their low ECL efficiencies, while very interesting to explore, limit their applications. As their electrochemistry is not well-defined, insight into their ECL mechanistic details is also limited. Alternatively, gold nanoclusters possess monodispersed sizes with atomic precision, low and well defined HOMO–LUMO energy gaps, and stable optical and electrochemical properties that make them suitable for potential ECL applications.

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.accounts.6b00441