Revealing structural isomerism in nanoparticles using single-crystal X-ray crystallography remains a largely unresolved task, although it has been theoretically predicted with some experimental clues. Here we report a pair of structural isomers, Au38T and Au38Q, as evidenced using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and indisputable single-crystal X-ray crystallography. The two isomers show different optical and catalytic properties, and differences in stability. In addition, the less stable Au38T can be irreversibly transformed to the more stable Au38Q at 50 °C in toluene. This work may represent an important advance in revealing structural isomerism at the nanoscale.

Controlling the dopant type, number, and position in doped metal nanoclusters (nanoparticles) is crucial but challenging. In the work described herein, we successfully achieved the mono-cadmium doping of Au25 nanoclusters, and revealed using X-ray crystallography in combination with theoretical calculations that one of the inner-shell gold atoms of Au25 was replaced by a Cd atom. The doping mode is distinctly different from that of mono-mercury doping, where one of the outer-shell Au atoms was replaced by a Hg atom. Au24Cd is readily transformed to Au24Hg, while the reverse (transformation from Au24Hg to Au24Cd) is forbidden under the investigated conditions.

We prepare a series of MAg 24 (SR) 18 (M = Ag/Pd/ Pt/Au) nanoclusters (NCs) with similar core−inner shell−outer shell structures and investigate their crystal and solution photoluminescence. The core silver atom replacement by the Pd/Pt/Au atom obviously tunes the geometric and electronic structures of Ag 25 (SR) 18 NC. The crystal photoluminescence intensities sequence hints a core-atom-directing charge transfer from the ligands to the metal kernels. Both the calculated NPA charge and the measured Ag inner shell −S terminal bond length support the proposed mechanism. Further experiments show the solvent influence on the NCs photoluminescence supported by the blue-shift of emissions of MAg 24 (SR) 18 NCs and the solvent-dependent photoluminescence intensity sequences. Especially, for PtAg 24 (SR) 18 , the quantum yield is almost 100-fold greater in CH 3 CN (18.6%) than in CH 2 Cl 2 (0.2%). However, the emission wavelengths of the series of NCs are barely influenced by the solvent type. This work indicates the importance of the core atom and the solvent to the photoluminescence of core−inner shell−outer shell silver NCs, having important implications for the photoluminescence mechanisms and tuning of noble metal nanoparticles.

Herein we report three important results of widespread interest, which are (1) the crystal structure of [Au24Pt(PET)18](0), (2) the crystal structure of [Au24Pd(PET)18](0) and (3) the main source of magnetism in [Au25(PET)18](0).

Doped nanoparticles (especially bimetal doped nanoparticles) have attracted extensive interest not only for fundamental scientific research but also for application purposes. However, their indefinite composition (structure) and broad distribution hinder an insightful understanding of the interaction between these invasive metals in bimetal doped nanoparticles. Fortunately, atom-precise bimetal doped ultrasmall nanoparticles (nanoclusters) provide opportunities to obtain such insights. However, atom-precise trimetal nanoclusters and their structures have rarely been reported. Here, we successfully dope thiolated Au 25 nanoclusters with Hg and Ag successively by using a biantigalvanic reduction method. We then fully characterize the as-obtained trimetal nanoclusters using multiple techniques (including single-crystal X-ray crystallography), and we demonstrate that the mercury and silver dopings exhibit not only a synergistic but also a counteractive influence on some of the physicochemical properties of Au 25 .

Structural isomerism allows the correlation between structures and properties to be investigated. Unfortunately, the structural isomers of metal nanoparticles are rare and genuine structural isomerism with distinctly different kernel atom packing (e.g., face‐centered cubic (fcc) vs. non‐fcc) has not been reported until now. Herein we introduce a novel ion‐induction method to synthesize a unique gold nanocluster with a twist mirror symmetry structure. The as‐synthesized nanocluster has the same composition but different kernel atom packing to an existing gold nanocluster Au42(TBBT)26 (TBBT=4‐tert‐butylbenzenethiolate). The fcc‐structured Au42(TBBT)26 nanocluster shows more enhanced photoluminescence than the non‐fcc‐structured Au42(TBBT)26 nanocluster, indicating that the fcc‐structure is more beneficial for emission than the non‐fcc structure. This idea was supported by comparison of the emission intensity of another three pairs of gold nanoclusters with similar compositions and sizes but with different kernel atom packings (fcc vs. non‐fcc).

Employing first principles calculations, we show a two-step reaction mechanism for direct methane oxidation to methanol over a single atom Co-embedded graphene (Gr) catalyst, with NO as the O-donor molecule. C-H activation is the rate-limiting step. The high reaction activity and selectivity under mild conditions were predicted for this catalyst.

Fine tuning nanoparticles with atomic precision is exciting and challenging and is critical for tuning the properties, understanding the structure-property correlation and determining the practical applications of nanoparticles. Some ultrasmall thiolated metal nanoparticles (metal nanoclusters) have been shown to be precisely doped, and even the protecting staple metal atom could be precisely reduced. However, the precise addition or reduction of the kernel atom while the other metal atoms in the nanocluster remain the same has not been successful until now, to the best of our knowledge. Here, by carefully selecting the protecting ligand with adequate steric hindrance, we synthesized a novel nanocluster in which the kernel can be regarded as that formed by the addition of two silver atoms to both ends of the Pt@Ag icosohedral kernel of the AgPt(SR) (SR: thiolate) nanocluster, as revealed by single crystal X-ray crystallography. Interestingly, compared with the previously reported AgPt(SR) nanocluster, the as-obtained novel bimetal nanocluster exhibits a similar absorption but a different electrochemical gap. One possible explanation for this result is that the kernel tuning does not essentially change the electronic structure, but obviously influences the charge on the Pt@Ag kernel, as demonstrated by natural population analysis, thus possibly resulting in the large electrochemical gap difference between the two nanoclusters. This work not only provides a novel strategy to tune metal nanoclusters but also reveals that the kernel change does not necessarily alter the optical and electrochemical gaps in a uniform manner, which has important implications for the structure-property correlation of nanoparticles.