Copper nanoclusters (Cu NCs) have recently emerged as promising luminophores, featuring ultra‐small size, reasonable photostability, large Stokes shift, and long emission lifetimes. Aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) has been often used to further improve both the emission intensity and stability of these clusters, with plenty of potential applications in the fields of chemical sensing and bioimaging. This review starts with a summary of the current understanding of emission mechanisms of Cu NCs and proceeds with the analysis of contributions from the Cu metal core and the organic ligands. We summarize the recent research progress on the design of ligands, and the ways on how to induce aggregation of the Cu NCs through electrostatic charge neutralization, host‐guest interactions, and the use of templates. We also discuss the current understanding of emission mechanisms of Cu NCs experiencing AIE, such as the often‐cited restriction of intramolecular motion and contributions from Cu(I) molecular complexes. We finish this review by providing concluding remarks and offering our own perspective on the active field of AIE of Cu NCs, with a hope to further promote the research on the fundamental aspects of this useful phenomenon.

Sulfur quantum dots (S-dots) emerge as promising luminescent materials owing to their remarkable optical properties. However, the mechanisms of their formation and photoluminescence remain concealed. We reveal these mechanisms by...

Producing high performance phosphors using abundant and non‐toxic precursors yet straightforward methods are promising but still a challenging task. Herein, highly luminescent and thermally stable phosphors were fabricated through an in situ precipitation synthesis strategy. Sulfur nanodots (S‐dots) act as the precursors for precipitation reactions and also provide the luminescent centers. Structural and optical characterization investigations suggest that S‐dots are incorporated in the matrix of BaSO4, and BaSO4 provides passivation effect for the surface ligands or traps of S‐dots. This results in the promotion of photoluminescence quantum yield from 23 % to 58 %, and the BaSO4 matrix also leads to the obvious promotion of thermal stability. These merits endow the construction of phosphor‐based light‐emitting diodes by utilizing the S‐dots@BaSO4 hybrid phosphors as a color conversion layer. These research results are significant for developing sulfur‐based luminescent materials, and also provide a solid and universal theory to produce high quality phosphors.

Copper nanoclusters have recently emerged as promising luminophores, and their AIE properties have promoted a plenty of potential applications. This review summarizes the recent research progress on design of ligands, and the ways on how to induce aggregation of the Cu nanoclusters. Special emphasis is put onthe current understanding of emission mechanisms of Cu nanoclusters experiencing AIE. (Aggregate. 2021;2:e112)

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