Structural isomerism in gold nanoparticles revealed by X-ray crystallography. [Corrected].
Revealing structural isomerism in nanoparticles using single-crystal X-ray crystallography remains a largely unresolved task, although it has been theoretically predicted with some experimental clues. Here we report a pair of structural isomers, Au38T and Au38Q, as evidenced using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and indisputable single-crystal X-ray crystallography. The two isomers show different optical and catalytic properties, and differences in stability. In addition, the less stable Au38T can be irreversibly transformed to the more stable Au38Q at 50 °C in toluene. This work may represent an important advance in revealing structural isomerism at the nanoscale.
Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Anhui Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology, Institute of Solid State Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, China.
Shubo
S
Tian
State Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
Yi-Zhi
YZ
Li
Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Anhui Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology, Institute of Solid State Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, China.
Man-Bo
MB
Li
Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and Synergetic Innovation Center of Quantum Information and Quantum Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China.
Jinyun
J
Yuan
Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and Synergetic Innovation Center of Quantum Information and Quantum Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China.
Jinlong
J
Yang
Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Anhui Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology, Institute of Solid State Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, China.
Zhikun
Z
Wu
Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States.
Rongchao
R
Jin