Atomically precise thiolate‐protected gold nanoclusters: Current status of designability of the structure and physicochemical properties

Abstract

Thiolate (SR)‐protected gold nanoclusters (Aun(SR)m NCs) are a rare type of material capable of simultaneously exhibiting multiple physicochemical properties well‐suited to specific applications, including photoluminescence, thermocatalysis, electrocatalysis, photocatalysis, magnetism, and optical activity. Over the past several decades, there has been tremendous progress in our understanding of the structure and physicochemical properties of Aun(SR)m NCs, resulting in the ability to fine‐tune the characteristics of these materials. It is therefore helpful to examine the extent to which the properties of Aun(SR)m and related metal NCs can now be adjusted based on design. This review presents representative examples of previous studies concerning the geometry, electronic structure, luminescence properties, catalysis, magnetism and optical activity of Aun(SR)m and related metal NCs and discusses the current status of the designability of these NCs to impart specific structural and physicochemical characteristics. This information is expected to accelerate the fabrication of highly functional materials based on Aun(SR)m and related metal NCs.

Metal Nanoclusters in Point-of-Care Sensing and Biosensing Applications

“…Consequently, AuNCs represent distinctive properties such as dramatic PL HOMO−LUMO transition, high Stokes shift, and different electrochemical behaviors. 88 AuNCs do not display surface plasmon resonance features compared to larger Au nanostructures. In contrast, AuNCs illustrated fluorescence emission from near-infrared to visible zones.…”

Ligand engineering of luminescent AuAg nanoclusters for targeted mitochondrial and brain imaging

“…Highly luminescent coinage metal nanoclusters (MNCs) have been recognized as a new class of luminescent probes for bioimaging [1][2][3][4] and biosensing, [5][6][7][8][9] which are greatly benefited from their ultrasmall size (r3 nm), [10][11][12][13] rich yet engineerable surface chemistry, [14][15][16] tunable photoluminescence (PL), [17][18][19][20][21][22][23] good photostability, 24,25 and low biotoxicity. [26][27][28] For example, the ultrasmall hydrodynamic size of MNCs that is below the kidney filtration threshold (o6 nm) grants them excellent renal clearance, 29,30 which is not possible with large sized probes (e.g., Au nanoparticles).…”

Key factor for the formation of a di-superatomic molecule composed of silver-based icosahedral superatoms

“…In the present study, we focus on Ag-based 13-atom NCs (Ag13−xMx; M = Ag or other metal; x = number of M) as superatoms, and aim to elucidate the key factors in the formation of di-superatomic molecules by vertex sharing 31 and the electronic structure of the obtained di-superatomic molecules. Platinum (Pt) or palladium (Pd) was used as the element that substitutes part of the Ag, and chloride (Cl) or bromide (Br) was used as the bridging ligand to support the connection of the two 13-atom NCs.…”