Deciphering icosahedra structural evolution with atomically precise silver nanoclusters.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 40875839.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/science.adx6639.
- No licence information is recorded for this record.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
Determining the atomic structure of nanoparticles (NPs) is critical for understanding their structural evolution and properties. However, controlling the growth of multiply-twinned metal NPs remains challenging because of numerous competing pathways. In this work, we report the synthesis of two giant silver icosahedral nanoclusters, [Ag<sub>213</sub>(C≡CR1)<sub>96</sub>]<sup>5-</sup> and [Ag<sub>429</sub>Cl<sub>24</sub>(C≡CR2)<sub>150</sub>]<sup>5-</sup> (Ag<sub>213</sub> and Ag<sub>429</sub>, R1 =3,4,5-F<sub>3</sub>C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>2</sub> and R2 = 4-CF<sub>3</sub>C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>4</sub>), achieved through ligand engineering and kinetic control. Single-crystal x-ray diffraction reveals that Ag<sub>213</sub> and Ag<sub>429</sub> have multilayered icosahedral Ag<sub>141</sub> |(Ag<sub>13</sub>@Ag<sub>42</sub>@Ag<sub>86</sub>) and Ag<sub>297</sub> (Ag<sub>13</sub>@Ag<sub>42</sub>@Ag<sub>92</sub>@Ag<sub>150</sub>) cores, respectively. Notably, Ag<sub>429</sub> with 260 valence electrons is the largest Ag<sup>0</sup>-containing nanocluster reported to date. These two giant silver nanoclusters are metallic in nature, as confirmed by their plasmonic absorption and pump-power-dependent excited-state dynamics. Their atomically precise structures support the layer-by-layer evolution from nuclei to seeds of silver icosahedra.