6533b824fe1ef96bd12816c4

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Symmetry breaking in ligand-protected gold clusters probed by nonlinear optics

Amala DassChanaka KumaraHannu HäkkinenKoen ClaysSteven DeckersThierry VerbiestNick Van SteerteghemStijn Van CleuvenbergenStefan Knoppe

subject

ta114Condensed matter physicsligandsChemistryScatteringLigandnonlinear opticsNonlinear optics02 engineering and technology010402 general chemistry021001 nanoscience & nanotechnologygold clusters01 natural sciencesMolecular physics0104 chemical sciencesmolecular symmetryMolecular symmetryCluster (physics)General Materials ScienceSymmetry breaking0210 nano-technologyta116

description

The first hyperpolarizabilities of [Au25(SR)18](-1/0) and Au38(SR)24 clusters were determined by Hyper-Rayleigh Scattering. A strong dependence on the molecular symmetry was observed, and we explore two strategies to destroy the center of inversion in [Au25(SR)18](-1/0), protection by chiral ligands and alloying of the cluster with silver. This may open new avenues to applications of Au : SR clusters in second-order nonlinear optics.

https://doi.org/10.1039/c6nr02251k