Lead as its own luminescent sensor

Lead (II) in polar organic solvents such as acetone, acetonitrile, and propylenecarbonate with excess bromide generates the highly luminescent lead-halide cluster Pb(4)Br(11)(3)(-). This in situ sensor does not rely on a host-guest relationship and, thus, is intrinsically selective and sensitive, allowing for the detection of lead at nanomolar concentrations. The cluster's emission maximum and relaxation kinetics are temperature dependent and indicate a close spacing of intralead and intracluster electronic energy levels.