Superatomic or Not? A Case Study on Isostructural Au <sub>3</sub> Ag <sub>2</sub> and Au <sub>3</sub> Cu <sub>2</sub> Nanoclusters
Abstract
Abstract Two bimetal nanoclusters, [Au 3 Ag 2 (Ppy 3 ) 6 ](NO 3 ) 3 ( Au 3 Ag 2 ) and [Au 3 Cu 2 (Ppy 3 ) 6 ](BF 4 ) 3 ( Au 3 Cu 2 ) have been synthesized with tri(2‐pyridyl)phosphine ( Ppy 3 ). Single crystal X‐ray structural analysis reveals that both have trigonal bipyramidal structures with three Au atoms at the waist and Ag/Cu atoms at the top and bottom vertices. Au 3 Ag 2 demonstrates much better stability than Au 3 Cu 2 in solution. Theoretical calculations indicate that Au 3 Ag 2 is the smallest well‐defined superatom while Au 3 Cu 2 is nonsuperatomic, even though they are isostructural and have the same number of valence electrons. This work highlights the influence of atom doping on the electronic structures and superatomic properties of metal nanoclusters.
Article Details
Authors (5)
Yun‐Ke Zhao
Department of Chemistry Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics and Molecular Engineering of the Ministry of Education Tsinghua University Beijing 100084 P.R. China
Zi‐Rui Liu
Department of Chemistry Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics and Molecular Engineering of the Ministry of Education Tsinghua University Beijing 100084 P.R. China
Zhen‐Chao Long
Department of Chemistry Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics and Molecular Engineering of the Ministry of Education Tsinghua University Beijing 100084 P.R. China
Wan‐Qi Shi
Department of Chemistry Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics and Molecular Engineering of the Ministry of Education Tsinghua University Beijing 100084 P.R. China
Quan‐Ming Wang
Department of Chemistry Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics and Molecular Engineering of the Ministry of Education Tsinghua University Beijing 100084 P.R. China