Deposition of mass selected gold clusters in solid krypton

Metal nanoclusters: from fundamental aspects to electronic properties and optical applications

Monolayer-protected noble metal clusters, also called nanoclusters, can be produced with the atomic precision and in large-scale quantity and are playing an increasingly important role in the field of nanoscience. To outline the origin and the perspectives of this new field, we overview the main results obtained on free metal clusters produced in gas phase including mainly electronic properties, the giant atom concept, the optical properties, briefly the role of the metal atom (alkali, divalent, noble metal) and finally the atomic structure of clusters. We also discuss the limitations of the free clusters. Then, we describe the field of monolayer-protected metal clusters, the main results, the new offered perspectives, the added complexity, and the role of the ligand beyond the superatom concept.

Origin of the Photoluminescence of Metal Nanoclusters: From Metal-Centered Emission to Ligand-Centered Emission

Recently, metal nanoclusters (MNCs) emerged as a new class of luminescent materials and have attracted tremendous interest in the area of luminescence-related applications due to their excellent luminous properties (good photostability, large Stokes shift) and inherent good biocompatibility. However, the origin of photoluminescence (PL) of MNCs is still not fully understood, which has limited their practical application. In this mini-review, focusing on the origin of the photoemission emission of MNCs, we simply review the evolution of luminescent mechanism models of MNCs, from the pure metal-centered quantum confinement mechanics to ligand-centered p band intermediate state (PBIS) model via a transitional ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT or LMMCT) mechanism as a compromise model.

Spectroscopy of gold atoms and gold oligomers in helium nanodroplets

The 6p ²P_1/2 ← 6s ²S_1/2 and 6p ²P_3/2 ← 6s ²S_1/2 transitions (D lines) of gold atoms embedded in superfluid helium nanodroplets have been investigated using resonant two-photon ionization spectroscopy. Both transitions are strongly blue-shifted and broadened due to the repulsive interaction between the Au valence electron and the surrounding helium. The in-droplet D lines are superimposed by the spectral signature of Au atoms relaxed into the metastable ²D states. These features are narrower than the in-droplet D lines and exhibit sharp rising edges that coincide with bare atom transitions. It is concluded that they originate from metastable ²D state AuHe_n exciplexes that have been ejected from the helium droplets during a relaxation process. Interestingly, the mechanism that leads to the formation of these complexes is suppressed for very large helium droplets consisting of about 2 × 10⁶ He atoms, corresponding to a droplet diameter on the order of 50 nm. The assignment of the observed spectral features is supported by ab initio calculations employing a multiconfigurational self-consistent field method and a multi-reference configuration interaction calculation. For large helium droplets doped with Au oligomers, excitation spectra for mass channels corresponding to Au_n with n = 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 9 are presented. The mass spectrum reveals even-odd oscillations in the number of Au atoms that constitute the oligomer, which is characteristic for coinage metal clusters. Resonances are observed close by the in-droplet D1 and D2 transitions, and the corresponding peak forms are very similar for different oligomer sizes.

Luminescent Metal Nanoclusters with Aggregation-Induced Emission

Thiolate-protected metal nanoclusters (or thiolated metal NCs) have recently emerged as a promising class of functional materials because of their well-defined molecular structures and intriguing molecular-like properties. Recent developments in the NC field have aimed at exploring metal NCs as novel luminescent materials in the biomedical field because of their inherent biocompatibility and good photoluminescence (PL) properties. From the fundamental perspective, recent advances in the field have also aimed at addressing the fundamental aspects of PL properties of metal NCs, shedding some light on developing efficient strategies to prepare highly luminescent metal NCs. In this Perspective, we discuss the physical chemistry of a recently discovered aggregation-induced emission (AIE) phenomenon and show the significance of AIE in understanding the PL properties of thiolated metal NCs. We then explore the unique physicochemical properties of thiolated metal NCs with AIE characteristics and highlight some recent developments in synthesizing the AIE-type luminescent metal NCs. We finally discuss perspectives and directions for future development of the AIE-type luminescent metal NCs.

Investigation of the Electronic Excited States of Small Gold Clusters in Rare Gas Matrices: Spin-Orbit Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory Calculation

The effects of the weak interactions of rare gas atoms on the UV-visible absorption spectra of gold dimer and tetramer clusters are investigated. The time-dependent density functional theory based on the two-component relativistic zeroth-order regular approximation that considered spin-orbit coupling is performed to estimate the absorption spectra of Au2,4-Rgn (Rg = Ne-Xe, and n = 1-6) complexes. Using spin-orbit, including the appropriate functional, shows a close correlation between experiment and our calculations. It is also demonstrated that the weak interactions between rare gas atoms and gold clusters affect the UV-vis spectra of Au2,4 clusters by shifting the electronic transition toward the blue. Moreover, we find that the order of change in peak position, Δν̃, is proportional to the strength of interactions: Δν̃Au2,4-Xe > Δν̃Au2,4-Kr > Δν̃Au2,4-Ar > Δν̃Au2,4-Ne. In addition, comparing the UV-visible spectra of Au2,4-Rgn complexes with those of isolated Au2 and Au4 clusters shows that for Au2,4-Rg2,4,6 complexes in which Rg atoms interacted symmetrically with gold clusters no additional peaks are observed compared to isolated clusters; however, for Au2,4-Rg1,3,5 complexes, extra peaks appear because of the decrease in symmetry.

Highly fluorescent noble-metal quantum dots

Highly fluorescent, water-soluble, few-atom noble-metal quantum dots have been created that behave as multielectron artificial atoms with discrete, size-tunable electronic transitions throughout the visible and near infrared. These molecular metals exhibit highly polarizable transitions and scale in size according to the simple relation E(Fermi)/N(1/3), predicted by the free-electron model of metallic behavior. This simple scaling indicates that fluorescence arises from intraband transitions of free electrons, and these conduction-electron transitions are the low-number limit of the plasmon-the collective dipole oscillations occurring when a continuous density of states is reached. Providing the missing link between atomic and nanoparticle behavior in noble metals, these emissive, water-soluble Au nanoclusters open new opportunities for biological labels, energy-transfer pairs, and light-emitting sources in nanoscale optoelectronics.