Search results for " Nanocluster"
showing 10 items of 56 documents
Combinatorial Identification of Hydrides in a Ligated Ag40 Nanocluster with Non-compact Metal Core
2019
No formation of bulk silver hydride has been reported. Until very recently, only few silver nanoclusters containing hydrides have been successfully prepared. However, due to the lack of effective techniques and also poor stability of hydride-containing Ag nanoclusters, the identification of hydrides’ location within Ag nanoclusters is challenging and not yet achieved although some successes have been reported on clusters of several Ag atoms. In this work, we report a detailed structural and spectroscopic characterization of the [Ag40(DMBT)24(PPh3)8H12]2+ (Ag40H12) cluster (DMBT=2,4-dimethylbenzenethiol). The metal framework consists of three-concentric shells of Ag8@Ag24@Ag8 which can be de…
Structural Characterization of Surfactant-Coated Bimetallic Cobalt/Nickel Nanoclusters by XPS, EXAFS, WAXS, and SAXS
2011
Cobalt nickel bimetallic nanoparticles were synthesized by changing the sequence of the chemical reduction of Co(II) and Ni(II) ions confined in the core of bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphate (2)., and Ni(DEHP)(2). The reduction was carried out by mixing, sequentially or contemporaneously, fixed amounts of n-heptane solution of Co(DEHP)2 and Ni(DEHP)2 micelles with a solution of sodium borohydride in ethanol at a fixed (reductant)/(total metal) molar ratio. This procedure involves the rapid formation of surfactant-coated nanoparticles, indicated as Co/Ni (Co after Ni), Ni/Co (Ni after Co), and Co + Ni (simultaneous), followed by their slow separation as nanostructures embedded in a sodium bis(2-eth…
Chemically Selective Imaging of Individual Bonds through Scanning Electron Energy-Loss Spectroscopy : Disulfide Bridges Linking Gold Nanoclusters
2020
As proof-of-principle of chemically selective, spatially resolved imaging of individual bonds, we carry out electron energy-loss spectroscopy in a scanning transmission electron microscopy instrument on atomically precise, thiolate-coated gold nanoclusters linked with 5,5′-bis(mercaptomethyl)-2,2′-bipyridine dithiol ligands. The images allow the identification of bridging disulfide bonds (R–S–S–R) between clusters, and X-ray photoelectron spectra support the finding. peerReviewed
Dynamic Stabilization of the Ligand-Metal Interface in Atomically Precise Gold Nanoclusters Au68 and Au144 Protected by meta-Mercaptobenzoic Acid
2017
Ligand-stabilized, atomically precise gold nanoclusters with a metal core of a uniform size of just 1-3 nm constitute an interesting class of nanomaterials with versatile possibilities for applications due to their size-dependent properties and modifiable ligand layers. The key to extending the usability of the clusters in applications is to understand the chemical bonding in the ligand layer as a function of cluster size and ligand structure. Previously, it has been shown that monodispersed gold nanoclusters, stabilized by meta-mercaptobenzoic acid (m-MBA or 3-MBA) ligands and with sizes of 68-144 gold atoms, show ambient stability. Here we show that a combination of nuclear magnetic reson…
Dynamics of weak interactions in the ligand layer of meta-mercaptobenzoic acid protected gold nanoclusters Au68(m-MBA)32 and Au144(m-MBA)40
2020
Atomically precise metal nanoclusters, stabilized and functionalized by organic ligands, are emerging nanomaterials with potential applications in plasmonics, nano-electronics, bio-imaging, nanocatalysis, and as therapeutic agents or drug carriers in nanomedicine. The ligand layer has an important role in modifying the physico-chemical properties of the clusters and in defining the interactions between the clusters and the environment. While this role is well recognized from a great deal of experimental studies, there is very little theoretical information on dynamical processes within the layer itself. Here, we have performed extensive molecular dynamics simulations, with forces calculated…
Elucidating the ligand shell structure and dynamics of Au683MBA32 gold nanocluster using molecular dynamics simulations
2017
Synthesising novel gold nanoparticles and -clusters can be often easier than characterising them, and after experimental analysis many options for the possible molecular formula of the cluster may remain as equally valid options. These options may be investigated by quantum computational means, such as density functional theory, but since DFT includes the electronic interactions, this might take time and excessive effort if the amount of options is large. In this thesis a new way of easing the computational task is introduced by a novel method, that combines a guessing algorithm and molecular dynamics simulations. The algorithm produces possible structures by utilising existing structures o…
Computational Criteria for Hydrogen Evolution Activity on Ligand-Protected Au25-Based Nanoclusters
2023
The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is a critical reaction in addressing climate change; however, it requires catalysts to be generated on an industrial scale. Nanomaterials offer several advantages over conventional HER catalysts, including the possibility of atomic precision in tailoring the intrinsic activity. Ligand-protected metal clusters, such as the thiolate-protected MAu24(SR)18 (where M is Au, Cu, Pd), are of particular interest as not only are they electrocatalytically active toward HER, but the charge state and composition can be precisely tuned. Here, we present a comprehensive computational study examining how the charge state and dopants affect the catalytic activity of [MA…
Stability, electronic structure, and optical properties of protected gold-doped silver Ag29-xAux (x = 0-5) nanoclusters
2017
In this work, we used density functional theory (DFT) and linear response time-dependent DFT (LR-TDDFT) to investigate the stability, electronic structure, and optical properties of Au-doped [Ag29−xAux(BDT)12(TPP)4]3− nanoclusters (BDT: 1,3-benzenedithiol; TPP triphenylphosphine) with x = 0–5. The aim of this work is to shed light on the most favorable doped structures by comparing our results with previously published experimental data. The calculated relative energies, ranging between 0.8 and 10 meV per atom, indicate that several doped Ag29−xAux nanoclusters are likely to co-exist at room temperature. However, only the Au-doped [Ag29−xAux(BDT)12(TPP)4]3− nanoclusters that have direct bon…
A magnetic look into the protecting layer of Au25 clusters
2016
The field of molecular metal clusters protected by organothiolates is experiencing a very rapid growth. So far, however, a clear understanding of the fine interactions between the cluster core and the capping monolayer has remained elusive, despite the importance of the latter in interfacing the former to the surrounding medium. Here, we describe a very sensitive methodology that enables comprehensive assessment of these interactions. Pulse electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) was employed to study the interaction of the unpaired electron with the protons of the alkanethiolate ligands in four structurally related paramagnetic Au25(SR)0 18 clusters (R ¼ ethyl, propyl, butyl, 2-methylpro…
Surface modification of gold nanoparticles and nanoclusters
2016
Gold nanoparticles are used in many beneficial technological applications in biochemistry, medicine and electronics. Among them, monolayer protected gold nanoclusters (MPCs) have received a significant attention in the scientific community due to their well-defined atomic structure, which is important for fundamental studies of nanoparticles properties and their functionalization. These particles, with a precise number of atoms, exhibit size-dependent optical, chemical and electronic properties. The thesis focuses on the structure, preparation, characterization, and properties of MPCs. For multifunctional applications, gold nanoparticles are an ideal class of compounds for surface functiona…