Controlling the Atomic Structure of Au30 Nanoclusters by a Ligand-Based Strategy.
We report the X-ray structure of a gold nanocluster with 30 gold atoms protected by 18 1-adamantanethiolate ligands (formulated as Au30 (S-Adm)18 ). This nanocluster exhibits a threefold rotationally symmetrical, hexagonal-close-packed (HCP) Au18 kernel protected by six dimeric Au2 (SR)3 staple motifs. This new structure is distinctly different from the previously reported Au30 S(S-(t) Bu)18 nanocluster protected by 18 tert-butylthiolate ligands and one sulfido ligand with a face-centered cubic (FCC) Au22 kernel. The Au30 (S-Adm)18 nanocluster has an anomalous solubility (it is only soluble in benzene but not in other common solvents). This work demonstrates a ligand-based strategy for controlling nanocluster structure and also provides a method for the discovery of possibly overlooked clusters because of their anomalous solubility.
Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.
Tatsuya
T
Higaki
Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.
Chong
C
Liu
Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.
Chenjie
C
Zeng
Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.|School of Chemistry, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, Jilin, 130024, China.
Renxi
R
Jin
Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.
Yuxiang
Y
Chen
Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.
Nathaniel L
NL
Rosi
Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA. rongchao@andrew.cmu.edu.
Rongchao
R
Jin
gold; ligands; nanoclusters; nanostructures; thiols