title: Ligand-stabilized Au13Cu(x) (x = 2, 4, 8) bimetallic nanoclusters: ligand engineering to control the exposure of metal sites.
abstract: Three novel bimetallic Au-Cu nanoclusters stabilized by a mixed layer of thiolate and phosphine ligands bearing pyridyl groups are synthesized and fully characterized by X-ray single crystal analysis and density functional theory computations. The three clusters have an icosahedral Au13 core face-capped by two, four, and eight Cu atoms, respectively. All face-capping Cu atoms in the clusters are triply coordinated by thiolate or pyridyl groups. The surface ligands control the exposure of Au sites in the clusters. In the case of the Au13Cu8 cluster, the presence of 12 2-pyridylthiolate ligands still leaves open space for catalysis. All the 3 clusters are 8-electron superatoms displaying optical gaps of 1.8-1.9 eV. The thermal decomposition studies suggest that the selective release of organic ligands from the clusters is possible.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, and Department of Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
authors.forename: Huayan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Xiaohu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Ville
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mäkinen
authors.forename: Shuichao
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Zichao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Hannu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Häkkinen
authors.forename: Lansun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Nanfeng
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zheng
mesh_terms: D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry*; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D008024:Ligands; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D010720:Phosphines / Q000737:chemistry; D011725:Pyridines / Q000737:chemistry; D011789:Quantum Theory; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D008024:Ligands; D010720:Phosphines; D011725:Pyridines; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds; D006046:Gold; D003300:Copper; C044646:phosphine; C023666:pyridine