Fast Synthesis of Thiolated Au25 Nanoclusters via Protection-Deprotection Method.
This letter reports a new synthesis strategy for atomically precise Au nanoclusters (NCs) by using a protection-deprotection method. The key in our synthesis strategy is to introduce a surfactant molecule to protect thiolate-Au(I) complexes during their reduction. The protecting layer provides a good steric hindrance and controls the formation rate of thiolated Au NCs, which leads to the direct formation of atomically precise Au NCs inside the protecting layer. The protecting layer was then removed from the surface of thiolated Au NCs to bring back the original functional groups on the NCs. The protection-deprotection method is simple and facile and can synthesize high-purity thiolated Au25 NCs within 10 min. Our synthesis protocol is fairly generic and can be easily extended to prepare Au25 NCs protected by other thiolate ligands.
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 4, 117576, Singapore.
Xun
X
Yuan
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 4, 117576, Singapore.
Yong
Y
Yu
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 4, 117576, Singapore.
Qiaofeng
Q
Yao
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 4, 117576, Singapore.
Qingbo
Q
Zhang
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 4, 117576, Singapore.
Jianping
J
Xie
inverse micelle; noble metal nanoclusters; phase transfer; protection method; surfactant