Atomically Tailored Gold Nanoclusters for Catalytic Application

Abstract

Recent advances in the synthetic chemistry of atomically precise metal nanoclusters (NCs) have significantly broadened the accessible sizes and structures. Such particles are well defined and have intriguing properties, thus, they are attractive for catalysis. Especially, those NCs with identical size but different core (or surface) structure provide unique opportunities that allow the specific role of the core and the surface to be mapped out without complication by the size effect. Herein, we summarize recent work with isomeric Aun NCs protected by ligands and isostructural NCs but with different surface ligands. The highlighted work includes catalysis by spherical and rod‐shaped Au25 (with different ligands), quasi‐isomeric Au28(SR)20 with different R groups, structural isomers of Au38(SR)24 (with identical R) and Au38S2(SR)20 with body‐centred cubic (bcc) structure, and isostructural [Au38L20(PPh3)4]2+ (different L). These isomeric and/or isostructural NCs have provided valuable insights into the respective roles of the kernel, surface staples, and the type of ligands on catalysis. Future studies will lead to fundamental advances and development of tailor‐made catalysts.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Mar 27, 2019
Source ID
10.1002/ange.201814156

Entities

People

  • Jinsong Chai
  • Qi Li
  • Rongchao Jin
  • Sha Yang
  • Shuo Zhao
  • Site Li
  • Tatsuya Higaki
  • Xiang‐sha Du
  • Yingwei Li

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • Carnegie Mellon University
  • National Science Foundation

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Chemistry

Readers

  • Materials Science and Engineering.
  • Nanoscale Plasmonic Nanotechnology
  • Theoretical Analysis.