title: Atomically resolved structure of ligand-protected Au9 clusters on TiO2 nanosheets using aberration-corrected STEM.
abstract: Triphenylphosphine ligand-protected Au9 clusters deposited onto titania nanosheets show three different atomic configurations as observed by scanning transmission electron microscopy. The configurations observed are a 3-dimensional structure, corresponding to the previously proposed Au9 core of the clusters, and two pseudo-2-dimensional (pseudo-2D) structures, newly found by this work. With the help of density functional theory (DFT) calculations, the observed pseudo-2D structures are attributed to the low energy, de-ligated structures formed through interaction with the substrate. The combination of scanning transmission electron microscopy with DFT calculations thus allows identifying whether or not the deposited Au9 clusters have been de-ligated in the deposition process.
authors.affiliation: Flinders Centre for NanoScale Science and Technology, Flinders University, Adelaide SA 5001, Australia.
authors.forename: Hassan S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Al Qahtani
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan.
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kimoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide SA 5005, Australia.
authors.forename: Trystan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide SA 5005, Australia.
authors.forename: Jason F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Alvino
authors.affiliation: Flinders Centre for NanoScale Science and Technology, Flinders University, Adelaide SA 5001, Australia.
authors.forename: Gunther G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Andersson
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide SA 5005, Australia.
authors.forename: Gregory F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Metha
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Vladimir B
authors.initials: VB
authors.lastname: Golovko
authors.affiliation: WPI-MANA, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan.
authors.forename: Takayoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.affiliation: WPI-MANA, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomonobu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakayama