Simultaneous hetero-atom doping and foreign-thiolate exchange on the Au25(SR)18 nanocluster

Abstract

Atomically precise tuning of the structures of nanoclusters (NCs for short) is exciting and critical for tailoring the properties, capturing the structure–property correlations, and strengthening the applications of these NCs. Metal-exchange and ligand-exchange are two universal methods used to modify the NCs at the atomic level. In this work, simultaneous hetero-atom doping and hetero-thiolate exchange are processed on the Au₂₅ template by doping the Au₂₅(SR)₁₈ NC with Ag-SR^′ complexes (where SR and SR′ represent different ligands), and these procedures are monitored by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) and UV-vis spectrometry. Additionally, to obtain functional alloy NCs, Ag-SPhNH₂ and Ag-SPhCOOH are used to dope the parent Au₂₅(S-C₂H₄Ph)₁₈, which successfully functionalizes the capped ligands and alloys the metallic kernel at the same time. Our work will hopefully shed light on the preparation of alloy NCs with intriguing functions.