Assembly of silver Trigons into a buckyball-like Ag ₁₈₀ nanocage

Abstract

Buckminsterfullerene (C) represents a perfect combination of geometry and molecular structural chemistry. It has inspired many creative ideas for building fullerene-like nanopolyhedra. These include other fullerenes, virus capsids, polyhedra based on DNA, and synthetic polynuclear metal clusters and cages. Indeed, the regular organization of large numbers of metal atoms into one highly complex structure remains one of the foremost challenges in supramolecular chemistry. Here we describe the design, synthesis, and characterization of a Ag nanocage with 180 Ag atoms as 4-valent vertices (V), 360 edges (E), and 182 faces (F)--sixty 3-gons, ninety 4-gons, twelve 5-gons, and twenty 6-gons--in agreement with Euler's rule V - E + F = 2. If each 3-gon (or silver Trigon) were replaced with a carbon atom linked by edges along the 4-gons, the result would be like C, topologically a truncated icosahedron, an Archimedean solid with icosahedral () point-group symmetry. If C can be described mathematically as a curling up of a 6.6.6 Platonic tiling, the Ag cage can be described as a curling up of a 3.4.6.4 Archimedean tiling. High-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry reveals that {Ag} subunits coexist with the Ag species in the assembly system before the final crystallization of Ag, suggesting that the silver Trigon is the smallest building block in assembly of the final cage. Thus, we assign the underlying growth mechanism of Ag to the Silver-Trigon Assembly Road (STAR), an assembly path that might be further employed to fabricate larger, elegant silver cages.

Self‐Assembly of A Novel Ag48 Cluster Encapsulating an Unprecedented [Mo8O28]8− Anion Template

“…Materials and methods . The precursor of ( p ‐MePhSAg) n was prepared according to the literature . All chemicals and solvents used in the syntheses were of analytical grade and used without further purification.…”

Smart Transformation of a Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane Shell Controlled by Thiolate Silver(I) Nanocluster Core in Cluster@Clusters Dendrimers

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6] Structure-defined silver(I) nanoclusters can be synthesized by self-assembly of alkynyl, thiolate or organophosphorus ligands with silver(I) salts, [4] of which their structures and functions can be modulated by different choice of central template anions,a uxiliary ligands,o r reaction conditions. [1][2][3][4][5][6] Structure-defined silver(I) nanoclusters can be synthesized by self-assembly of alkynyl, thiolate or organophosphorus ligands with silver(I) salts, [4] of which their structures and functions can be modulated by different choice of central template anions,a uxiliary ligands,o r reaction conditions.…”

Polyoxovanadate‐Based Metal−Organic Octahedron Based on 1,4‐Naphthalenedicarboxylic Acid

“…Metal−organic polyhedra (MOPs), as discrete molecular entities, were formed by self‐assembly of organic ligands (linkers) and metal ions or metal clusters (nodes). Compared with infinite multidimensional metal−organic frameworks (MOFs), MOPs have potential applications in gas storage and separation, drug delivery and as host molecules to encapsulate and release some small guest molecules owing to the discrete molecular coordination architectures and well‐defined cavities . Polyoxovanadate‐based metal−organic polyhedra (VMOPs) were constructed by polyoxovanadates clusters as molecular building blocks (MBBs) linked by organic ligands with polyhedral geometries.…”