Search results for " Nanocluster"
showing 10 items of 56 documents
Dynamic Diglyme-Mediated Self-Assembly of Gold Nanoclusters
2015
We report the assembly of gold nanoclusters by the nonthiolate ligand diglyme into discrete and dynamic assemblies. To understand this surprising phenomenon, the assembly of Au20(SC2H4Ph)15-diglyme into Au20(SC2H4Ph)15-diglyme-Au20(SC2H4Ph)15 is explored in detail. The assembly is examined by high-angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy, size exclusion chromatography, mass spectrometry, IR spectroscopy, and calorimetry. We establish a dissociation constant for dimer to monomer conversion of 20.4 μM. Theoretical models validated by transient absorption spectroscopy predict a low-spin monomer and a high-spin dimer, with assembly enabled through weak diglyme oxygen-g…
Au25(SEt)18 a nearly naked thiolate-protected Au25 cluster Struct. analysis by single crystal X-ray crystallograp. and electron nuclear double res
2014
X-ray crystallography has been fundamental in discovering fine structural features of ultrasmall gold clusters capped by thiolated ligands. For still unknown structures, however, new tools capable of providing relevant structural information are sought. We prepared a 25-gold atom nanocluster protected by the smallest ligand ever used, ethanethiol. This cluster displays the electrochemistry, mass spectrometry, and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy features of similar Au25 clusters protected by 18 thiolated ligands. The anionic and the neutral form of Au25(SEt)18 were fully characterized by (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy, which confirmed the monolayer's properties and the paramagnetism of neutr…
Analysis of the Electronic Structure of Non-Spherical Ligand-Protected Metal Nanoclusters: The Case of a Box-Like Ag67
2016
In this work we introduce a new strategy to investigate the electronic shell structure of ligand-protected metal nanoclusters of polyhedral core shape. The central idea is to identify the symmetry of the Kohn–Sham molecular orbitals of an atomistic structure based on their projection onto the electronic states of a jellium system with a similar shape of the background charge density. Herein, we study the connection between a reduced atomistic model of the recently reported box-like [Ag67(SR)32(PR3)8]3+ nanocluster and a jellium box consisting of 32 free electrons. With this approach, we determine the symmetry of electronic states of the metal core and identify those that are involved in the…
Jahn–Teller effects in Au25(SR)18
2016
The relationship between oxidation state, structure, and magnetism in many molecules is well described by first-order Jahn–Teller distortions. This relationship is not yet well defined for ligated nanoclusters and nanoparticles, especially the nano-technologically relevant gold-thiolate protected metal clusters. Here we interrogate the relationships between structure, magnetism, and oxidation state for the three stable oxidation states, 1, 0 and +1 of the thiolate protected nanocluster Au25(SR)18. We present the single crystal X-ray structures of the previously undetermined charge state Au25(SR)18+1, as well as a higher quality single crystal structure of the neutral compound Au25(SR)180 . …
Surface Chemistry Controls Magnetism in Cobalt Nanoclusters
2016
Magnetic properties of Co13 and Co55 nanoclusters, passivated by surface ligand shells that exhibit varying electronic interactions with the metal, are studied using density functional theory. The calculations show that the chemical nature of the bond between the ligand and the metal core (X-type or L-type) impacts the total magnetic moment of Co nanoclusters dramatically. Furthermore, the chemical identity of the ligand within each binding motif then provides a fine handle on the exhibited magnetic moment of the cluster. Thus, ligand shell chemistry is predicted to not only stabilize Co nanoclusters, but provide a powerful approach to control their magnetic properties, which combined enabl…
Atomically Precise, Thiolated Copper–Hydride Nanoclusters as Single-Site Hydrogenation Catalysts for Ketones in Mild Conditions
2019
Copper-hydrides are known catalysts for several technologically important reactions such as hydrogenation of CO, hydroamination of alkenes and alkynes, and chemoselective hydrogenation of unsaturated ketones to unsaturated alcohols. Stabilizing copper-based particles by ligand chemistry to nanometer scale is an appealing route to make active catalysts with optimized material economy; however, it has been long believed that the ligand-metal interface, particularly if sulfur-containing thiols are used as stabilizing agent, may poison the catalyst. We report here a discovery of an ambient-stable thiolate-protected copper-hydride nanocluster [Cu25H10(SPhCl2)18]3- that readily catalyzes hydrogen…
Gold Nanowired: A Linear (Au25)n Polymer from Au25 Molecular Clusters
2014
Au25(SR)18 has provided fundamental insights into the properties of clusters protected by monolayers of thiolated ligands (SR). Because of its ultrasmall core, 1 nm, Au25(SR)18 displays molecular behavior. We prepared a Au25 cluster capped by n-butanethiolates (SBu), obtained its structure by single-crystal X-ray crystallography, and studied its properties both experimentally and theoretically. Whereas in solution Au25(SBu)18(0) is a paramagnetic molecule, in the crystal it becomes a linear polymer of Au25 clusters connected via single Au-Au bonds and stabilized by proper orientation of clusters and interdigitation of ligands. At low temperature, [Au25(SBu)18(0)]n has a nonmagnetic ground s…
Covalently linked multimers of gold nanoclusters Au102(p-MBA)44and Au∼250(p-MBA)n
2016
We present the synthesis, separation, and characterization of covalently-bound multimers of para-mercaptobenzoic acid (p-MBA) protected gold nanoclusters. The multimers were synthesized by performing a ligand-exchange reaction of a pre-characterized Au102(p-MBA)44 nanocluster with biphenyl-4,4′-dithiol (BPDT). The reaction products were separated using gel electrophoresis yielding several distinct bands. The bands were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealing monomer, dimer, and trimer fractions of the nanocluster. TEM analysis of dimers in combination with molecular dynamics simulations suggest that the nanoclusters are covalently bound via a disulfide bridge between BP…
Template-Free Supracolloidal Self-Assembly of Atomically Precise Gold Nanoclusters : From 2D Colloidal Crystals to Spherical Capsids
2016
We report supracolloidal self-assembly of atomically precise and strictly monodisperse gold nanoclusters involving p-mercaptobenzoic acid ligands (Au102-pMBA44) under aqueous conditions into hexagonally packed monolayer-thick two-dimensional facetted colloidal crystals (thickness 2.7 nm) and their bending to closed shells leading to spherical capsids (d ca. 200 nm), as controlled by solvent conditions. The 2D colloidal assembly is driven in template-free manner by the spontaneous patchiness of the pMBA ligands around the Au102-pMBA44 nanoclusters preferably towards equatorial plane, thus promoting inter-nanocluster hydrogen bonds and high packing to planar sheets. More generally, the findin…
Atomically Precise Nanocluster Assemblies Encapsulating Plasmonic Gold Nanorods.
2018
The self-assembled structures of atomically precise, ligand-protected noble metal nanoclusters leading to encapsulation of plasmonic gold nanorods (GNRs) is presented. Unlike highly sophisticated DNA nanotechnology, this strategically simple hydrogen bonding-directed self-assembly of nanoclusters leads to octahedral nanocrystals encapsulating GNRs. Specifically, the p-mercaptobenzoic acid (pMBA)-protected atomically precise silver nanocluster, Na4 [Ag44 (pMBA)30 ], and pMBA-functionalized GNRs were used. High-resolution transmission and scanning transmission electron tomographic reconstructions suggest that the geometry of the GNR surface is responsible for directing the assembly of silver …