An atomically precise alloy AgCu cuboid nanocluster with a cubic core: gram scale synthesis, total structure, electronic structure, and catalytic performance
Creators
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1.
Khalifa University of Science and Technology
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2.
California Institute of Technology
Abstract
Although atomically precise noble metal nanoclusters (NMNCs) are highly desirable to unravel the size and structure–activity relationships in catalysis, their synthesis in a controlled way at the atomic level is challenging. Herein, we report the structure and gram scale synthesis of a highly symmetric 2-phenylethanethiol (PETH) and triphenylphosphine (PPh3)-protected AgCu alloy nanocluster (NC) [Ag4Cu28H6(PET)16Cl8(PPh3)8][BF4]2 with a cuboid shape, denoted as Ag4Cu28. This was accomplished via a facile one-pot reduction method. The Ag4Cu28 NC consists of an Ag4Cu4 metal core, six hydrides, four Cu4Cl2 units, eight PET ligands, and four Cu2(PET)2(PPh3)2 motifs. High-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HRESI MS) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations support this crystal structure. Moreover, Ag4Cu28 exhibits excellent catalytic activity (k = 7.86 min−1) in the hydrogenation of hazardous nitroarenes. This intriguing NC delivers a unique opportunity to explore the gram scale synthesis of alloy nanoclusters and to expand the research on Cu and Ag-based NCs.
Copyright and License
© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2025
Acknowledgement
The author acknowledges Khalifa University of Science and Technology for providing laboratory facilities and instrumentation throughout this research. The authors would like to express their gratitude for the support received from AMCC and chemistry department at Khalifa University of Science and Technology. WAG, MYY, and BM were supported by the US National Science Foundation (CBET 2311117).
Data Availability
The detailed results of this article have been included as part of the ESI for publication.
Supplemental Material
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Additional details
Related works
- Is supplemented by
- Supplemental Material: https://www.rsc.org/suppdata/d4/mh/d4mh01324g/d4mh01324g1.pdf (URL)
- Supplemental Material: https://www.rsc.org/suppdata/d4/mh/d4mh01324g/d4mh01324g2.cif (URL)
Funding
- Khalifa University of Science and Technology
- AMCC
- National Science Foundation
- CBET 2311117
Dates
- Available
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2025-04-17Published online