Distinct photophysical properties in atom-precise silver and copper nanocluster analogues

Abstract

The synthesis of atom-precise analogues of homometallic nanoclusters remains a great challenge. Herein we report the first pair of atom-precise copper/silver-thiolate halide cluster analogues, namely [Cu₁₇/Ag₁₇I₃S(C₂B₁₀H₁₀S₂)₆(CH₃CN)₁₁] (Cu₁₇ and Ag₁₇), obtained by bottom-up self-assembly and complete-metal-exchange-induced cluster-to-cluster transformation, respectively. The differences in optical absorption and emission of these analogues were fully elucidated by experimental and theoretical methods.