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Li S, Li NN, Dong XY, Zang SQ, Mak TCW. Chemical Flexibility of Atomically Precise Metal Clusters. Chem Rev 2024; 124:7262-7378. [PMID: 38696258 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.3c00896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2024]
Abstract
Ligand-protected metal clusters possess hybrid properties that seamlessly combine an inorganic core with an organic ligand shell, imparting them exceptional chemical flexibility and unlocking remarkable application potential in diverse fields. Leveraging chemical flexibility to expand the library of available materials and stimulate the development of new functionalities is becoming an increasingly pressing requirement. This Review focuses on the origin of chemical flexibility from the structural analysis, including intra-cluster bonding, inter-cluster interactions, cluster-environments interactions, metal-to-ligand ratios, and thermodynamic effects. In the introduction, we briefly outline the development of metal clusters and explain the differences and commonalities of M(I)/M(I/0) coinage metal clusters. Additionally, we distinguish the bonding characteristics of metal atoms in the inorganic core, which give rise to their distinct chemical flexibility. Section 2 delves into the structural analysis, bonding categories, and thermodynamic theories related to metal clusters. In the following sections 3 to 7, we primarily elucidate the mechanisms that trigger chemical flexibility, the dynamic processes in transformation, the resultant alterations in structure, and the ensuing modifications in physical-chemical properties. Section 8 presents the notable applications that have emerged from utilizing metal clusters and their assemblies. Finally, in section 9, we discuss future challenges and opportunities within this area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Si Li
- College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
| | - Na-Na Li
- College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo 454000, China
| | - Xi-Yan Dong
- College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo 454000, China
| | - Shuang-Quan Zang
- College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
| | - Thomas C W Mak
- College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
- Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, SAR 999077, China
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Zhang Y, Zhang W, Zhang TS, Ge C, Tao Y, Fei W, Fan W, Zhou M, Li MB. Site-Recognition-Induced Structural and Photoluminescent Evolution of the Gold-Pincer Nanocluster. J Am Chem Soc 2024; 146:9631-9639. [PMID: 38530981 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c12982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/28/2024]
Abstract
The induced structural transformation provides an efficient way to precisely modulate the fine structures and the corresponding performance of gold nanoclusters, thus constituting one of the important research topics in cluster chemistry. However, the driving forces and mechanisms of these processes are still ambiguous in many cases, limiting further applications. In this work, based on the unique coordination mode of the pincer ligand-stabilized gold nanocluster Au8(PNP)4, we revealed the site-recognition mechanism for induced transformations of gold nanoclusters. The "open nitrogen sites" on the surface of the nanocluster interact with different inducers including organic compounds and metals and trigger the conversion of Au8(PNP)4 to Au13 and Au9Ag4 nanoclusters, respectively. Control experiments verified the site-recognition mechanism, and the femtosecond and nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy revealed the electronic and photoluminescent evolution accompanied by the structural transformation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Structure and Functional Regulation of Hybrid Materials of Ministry of Education, Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, P. R. China
| | - Wei Zhang
- Department of Chemical Physics, Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, P. R. China
| | - Tai-Song Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Structure and Functional Regulation of Hybrid Materials of Ministry of Education, Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, P. R. China
| | - Chao Ge
- Key Laboratory of Structure and Functional Regulation of Hybrid Materials of Ministry of Education, Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, P. R. China
| | - Yang Tao
- Key Laboratory of Structure and Functional Regulation of Hybrid Materials of Ministry of Education, Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, P. R. China
| | - Wenwen Fei
- Key Laboratory of Structure and Functional Regulation of Hybrid Materials of Ministry of Education, Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, P. R. China
| | - Weigang Fan
- Key Laboratory of Structure and Functional Regulation of Hybrid Materials of Ministry of Education, Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, P. R. China
| | - Meng Zhou
- Department of Chemical Physics, Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, P. R. China
| | - Man-Bo Li
- Key Laboratory of Structure and Functional Regulation of Hybrid Materials of Ministry of Education, Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, P. R. China
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Tang L, Han Q, Wang B, Yang Z, Song C, Feng G, Wang S. Constructing perfect cubic Ag-Cu alloyed nanoclusters through selective elimination of phosphine ligands. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 26:62-66. [PMID: 38086629 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp04224c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2023]
Abstract
The aspiration of chemists has always been to design and achieve control over nanoparticle morphology at the atomic level. Here, we report a synthesis strategy and crystal structure of a perfect cubic Ag-Cu alloyed nanocluster, [Ag55Cu8I12(S-C6H32,4(CH3)2)24][(PPh4)] (Ag55Cu8I12 for short). The structure of this cluster was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) and further validated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), inductively coupled plasma (ICP), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and 1H and 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The surface deviation of the cube was measured to be 0.291 Å, making it the flattest known cube to date.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Tang
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, Shandong, P. R. China.
| | - Qikai Han
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, Shandong, P. R. China.
| | - Bin Wang
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, Shandong, P. R. China.
| | - Zhonghua Yang
- College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, Shandong, P. R. China
| | - Chunyuan Song
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, Shandong, P. R. China.
| | - Guanyu Feng
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, Shandong, P. R. China.
| | - Shuxin Wang
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, Shandong, P. R. China.
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Liu N, Wang Y, Wang Z, He Q, Liu Y, Dou X, Yin Z, Li Y, Zhu H, Yuan X. Conjugating AIE-featured AuAg nanoclusters with highly luminescent carbon dots for improved visible-light-driven antibacterial activity. NANOSCALE 2022; 14:8183-8191. [PMID: 35621160 DOI: 10.1039/d2nr01550a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Metal nanoclusters (NCs) have emerged as novel antibacterial agents featuring broad-spectrum antibacterial activity without drug resistance for bacteria, but suffer from fast antibacterial invalidation due to their consumption by bacteria. Herein we report the design of a visible-light-driven photodynamic antibacterial agent based on conjugating aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-featured AuAg NCs with highly luminescent carbon dots (CDs). The conjugation of CDs with AuAg NCs could not only enhance the visible-light harvest, but also promote charge carrier generation/separation via charge/energy transfer, leading to the production of abundant reactive oxygen species (ROS) for bacterial killing under visible-light irradiation. Consequently, the as-obtained CDs@AuAg NCs display excellent photodynamic antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria with 4-5 orders of magnitude reduction in colony forming units, which is different from the conventional metal NC-based analogue relying on self-consumption for bacterial killing. In addition, the CDs@AuAg NCs are found to be free of cytotoxicity; the ROS capture experiments indicate that the photoproduced H2O2 by CDs@AuAg NCs is the main active species for bacterial killing, accounting for nearly 48% of the total antibacterial efficacy. This study provides a paradigm for the design of metal NC-based photodynamic antibacterial agents for diverse bactericidal applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naiwei Liu
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology (QUST), 53 Zhengzhou Rd., Shibei District, Qingdao 266042, P. R. China.
| | - Yichun Wang
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology (QUST), 53 Zhengzhou Rd., Shibei District, Qingdao 266042, P. R. China.
| | - Ziping Wang
- Weifang University of Science and Technology, Shandong Peninsula Engineering Research Center of Comprehensive Brine Utilization, Weifang 262700, P. R. China
| | - Qiuxia He
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology (QUST), 53 Zhengzhou Rd., Shibei District, Qingdao 266042, P. R. China.
| | - Yong Liu
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology (QUST), 53 Zhengzhou Rd., Shibei District, Qingdao 266042, P. R. China.
| | - Xinyue Dou
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology (QUST), 53 Zhengzhou Rd., Shibei District, Qingdao 266042, P. R. China.
| | - Zhengmao Yin
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology (QUST), 53 Zhengzhou Rd., Shibei District, Qingdao 266042, P. R. China.
| | - Yang Li
- Jangsu Key Laboratory of Micro and Nano Heat Fluid Flow Technology and Energy Application, School of Physical Science and Technology, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, P. R. China
| | - Haiguang Zhu
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology (QUST), 53 Zhengzhou Rd., Shibei District, Qingdao 266042, P. R. China.
| | - Xun Yuan
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology (QUST), 53 Zhengzhou Rd., Shibei District, Qingdao 266042, P. R. China.
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Ma XH, Si Y, Luo LL, Wang ZY, Zang SQ, Mak TCW. Directional Doping and Cocrystallizing an Open-Shell Ag 39 Superatom via Precursor Engineering. ACS NANO 2022; 16:5507-5514. [PMID: 35353504 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.1c09911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Metal precursors employed in the bottom-up synthesis of metal nanoclusters (NCs) are of great importance in directing their composition and geometrical structure. In this work, a silver nanocluster co-protected by phosphine and thiolate, namely, [Ag39(PFBT)24(TPP)8]2- (Ag39, PFBT = pentafluorobenzenethiol, TPP = triphenylphosphine), was isolated and structurally characterized. It adopts a three-layered Ag13@Ag18@Ag8S24P8 core-shell structure. The Ag13@Ag18 kernel is unusual in multilayer noble metal NCs. By introducing a copper precursor in the synthesis, a bimetallic nanocluster [Ag37Cu2(PFBT)24(TPP)8]2- (Ag37Cu2) with an identical structure to Ag39 apart from two outer Ag atoms being substituted by Cu atoms was obtained. Astoundingly, the Cu precursor used in the synthesis was found to be critical in determining the final structure. The alteration of the Cu precursor led to the cocrystallization of the above alloy nanocluster with a Ag14 nanocluster, namely, [Ag37Cu2(PFBT)24(TPP)8]2-·[Ag14(PFBT)6(TPP)8] (Ag37Cu2·Ag14). The electronic structure analyzed by theoretical calculation reveals that Ag39 is a 17-electron open-shell superatom. The optical absorption of Ag39, Ag37Cu2, and Ag37Cu2·Ag14 was compared and studied in detail. This work not only enriches the family of alloy metallic nanoclusters but also provides a metal NC-based cocrystal platform for in-depth study of its crystal growth and photophysical property.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Hong Ma
- Green Catalysis Center and Henan Key Laboratory of Crystalline Molecular Functional Materials, Henan International Joint Laboratory of Tumor Theranostical Cluster Materials, College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou 450001, China
| | - Yubing Si
- Green Catalysis Center and Henan Key Laboratory of Crystalline Molecular Functional Materials, Henan International Joint Laboratory of Tumor Theranostical Cluster Materials, College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou 450001, China
| | - Lan-Lan Luo
- Green Catalysis Center and Henan Key Laboratory of Crystalline Molecular Functional Materials, Henan International Joint Laboratory of Tumor Theranostical Cluster Materials, College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou 450001, China
| | - Zhao-Yang Wang
- Green Catalysis Center and Henan Key Laboratory of Crystalline Molecular Functional Materials, Henan International Joint Laboratory of Tumor Theranostical Cluster Materials, College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou 450001, China
| | - Shuang-Quan Zang
- Green Catalysis Center and Henan Key Laboratory of Crystalline Molecular Functional Materials, Henan International Joint Laboratory of Tumor Theranostical Cluster Materials, College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou 450001, China
| | - Thomas C W Mak
- Green Catalysis Center and Henan Key Laboratory of Crystalline Molecular Functional Materials, Henan International Joint Laboratory of Tumor Theranostical Cluster Materials, College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou 450001, China
- Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China
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Yang Y, Chen C, Xu GY, Yuan J, Ye SF, Chen L, Lv QL, Luo G, Yang J, Li MB, Wu Z. An efficient nanocluster catalyst for Sonogashira reaction. J Catal 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jcat.2021.07.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Wang P, Peng J, Pei Y. An Au 2S network model for exploring the structural origin, evolution, and two-electron (2e -) reduction growth mechanism of Au n(SR) m clusters. J Chem Phys 2021; 154:244308. [PMID: 34241338 DOI: 10.1063/5.0047886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
An Au2S network model was proposed to study the structural origin, evolution, and formation mechanism of the Aun(SR)m clusters containing quasi-face-centered-cubic (fcc) cores. The Au-S framework structures of 20 quasi-fcc gold clusters had been determined from the Au2S network. Based on the Au2S network, some new quasi-fcc clusters, such as 8e- clusters Au24(SR)16, Au26(SR)18, Au26(SR)19 -, Au29(SR)21, Au30(SR)22, and Au32(SR)24, and a class of Au24+8n(SR)20+4n (n = 1, 2, 3, …) clusters were predicted. Furthermore, by studying the evolution of Au-S frameworks, it was possible to construct molecular-like reaction equations to account for the formation mechanism of quasi-fcc gold clusters, which indicated that the formation of quasi-fcc gold clusters can be understood from the stepwise 2e--reduction cluster growth pathways. The present studies showed that the Au2S network model provided a "parental" Au-S network for exploring the structural evolution of the quasi-fcc Aun(SR)m clusters. Moreover, it was possible to study the formation pathways of the Aun(SR)m clusters by studying the evolution of their Au-S frameworks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pu Wang
- Department of Chemistry, Key Laboratory for Green Organic Synthesis and Application of Hunan Province, Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Chemistry and Applications of Ministry of Education, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, Hunan 411105, China
| | - Jiao Peng
- Department of Chemistry, Key Laboratory for Green Organic Synthesis and Application of Hunan Province, Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Chemistry and Applications of Ministry of Education, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, Hunan 411105, China
| | - Yong Pei
- Department of Chemistry, Key Laboratory for Green Organic Synthesis and Application of Hunan Province, Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Chemistry and Applications of Ministry of Education, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, Hunan 411105, China
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