Atom-hybridization for synthesis of polymetallic clusters.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 30250189.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-018-06422-8 and PMC identifier 6155219.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The chemistry of metal clusters on the sub-nanometer scale is not yet well understood because metal clusters, especially multimetallic clusters, are difficult to synthesize with control over size and composition. The template synthesis of multimetallic sub-nanoclusters is achieved using a phenylazomethine dendrimer as a macromolecular template. Its intramolecular potential gradient allows the precise uptake of metal precursor complexes containing up to eight elements on the template. The usefulness of this method is demonstrated by synthesizing multimetallic sub-nanoclusters composed of five elements (Ga<sub>1</sub>In<sub>1</sub>Au<sub>3</sub>Bi<sub>2</sub>Sn<sub>6</sub>). The size and composition of this cluster can be precisely controlled and the metals involved are alloyed with each other. This approach provides the ability to easily blend different metals in various combinations to create new materials on the sub-nanometer scale, which will lead to the development of a new area in the field of chemistry.