A chloride-doped silver-sulfide cluster [Ag 148 S 26 Cl 30 (CCBu t ) 60 ] 6+ : hierarchical assembly, enhanced luminescence and cytotoxicity to cancer cells.

The formation of high-nuclear silver(I) clusters remains elusive and their potential applications are still underdeveloped. Herein, we report an unprecedented gigantic Ag 148 ([Ag 148 S 26 Cl 30 (CCBu t ) 60 ](SbF 6 ) 6 ) cluster co-templated by Cl - and S 2- , which was well-defined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and high-resolution mass spectrometry. The cluster exhibits a hierarchical structure consisting of fused Ag 24 X 16 kernel, Ag 60 X 20 shell and "cluster of clusters assembling" of four pentagonal concave polyhedral {Ag 16 X 5 } units. Furthermore, the silver cluster emits red light at room temperature with a prominent 39.6% QY. The cellular uptake and cytotoxicity indicate that Ag 148 induces apoptosis of cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner.