0000000000299344
AUTHOR
Thomas Bürgi
Size Exclusion Chromatography for Semipreparative Scale Separation of Au 38 (SR) 24 and Au 40 (SR) 24 and Larger Clusters
Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) on a semipreparative scale (10 mg and more) was used to size-select ultrasmall gold nanoclusters (2 nm) from polydisperse mixtures. In particular, the ubiquitous byproducts of the etching process toward Au(38)(SR)(24) (SR, thiolate) clusters were separated and gained in high monodispersity (based on mass spectrometry). The isolated fractions were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, MALDI mass spectrometry, HPLC, and electron microscopy. Most notably, the separation of Au(38)(SR)(24) and Au(40)(SR)(24) clusters is demonstrated.
Vibrational Circular Dichroism of Thiolate-Protected Au25 Clusters: Accurate Prediction of Spectra and Chirality Transfer within the Mixed Ligand Shell
We have prepared Au25(PET)18-2x((R)-FBI-NAS)x(PET = 2-phenylethylthiol, (R)-FBINAS = (R)-5,5',6,6',7,7',8,8'-octafluoro-[1,1'-binaphthalene]-2,2'-dithiol) mixed ligand shell clusters via ligand exchange. Two fractions with different composition of the ligand shell were separated using size-exclusion chromatography and studied by infrared (IR) spectroscopy and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD). Both IR and VCD spectra are dominated by FBINAS vibrations although PET is more abundant on the cluster. Calculated VCD spectra on a model cluster Au25(SH)16(FBINAS)1 depend on the charge state of the cluster, and the anion is in excellent agreement with the experimental spectra of the Au25(PET)18-…
Au-40(SR)(24) Cluster as a Chiral Dimer of 8-Electron Superatoms: Structure and Optical Properties
We predict and analyze density-functional theory (DFT)-based structures for the recently isolated Au(40)(SR)(24) cluster. Combining structural information extracted from ligand-exchange reactions, circular dichroism and transmission electron microscopy leads us to propose two families of low-energy structures that have a chiral Au-S framework on the surface. These families have a common geometrical motif where a nonchiral Au(26) bi-icosahedral cluster core is protected by 6 RS-Au-SR and 4 RS-Au-SR-Au-SR oligomeric units, analogously to the "Divide and Protect" motif of known clusters Au(25)(SR)(18)(-/0), Au(38)(SR)(24) and Au(102)(SR)(44). The strongly prolate shape of the proposed Au(26) c…
Pd2Au36(SR)(24) cluster: structure studies
The location of the Pd atoms in Pd2Au36(SC2H4Ph)(24), is studied both experimentally and theoretically. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) indicates oxidized Pd atoms. Palladium K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine-structure (EXAFS) data clearly show Pd-S bonds, which is supported by far infrared spectroscopy and by comparing theoretical EXAFS spectra in R space and circular dichroism spectra of the staple, surface and core doped structures with experimental spectra.