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Synthesis of Near-Infrared Emitting Gold Nanoclusters for Biological Applications
Published on: March 22, 2020
Probing the structural evolution of medium-sized gold clusters: Au(n)(-) (n = 27-35)
1Department of Chemistry and Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, USA.
Journal of the American Chemical Society
|April 22, 2010
Summary
Researchers studied gold clusters (Au(n)(-)) using photoelectron spectroscopy and theory. They discovered core-shell structures, with tetrahedral cores appearing in larger clusters, crucial for understanding nanoparticle catalysis.
Area of Science:
- Physical Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Computational Chemistry
Background:
- Understanding the structure of gold clusters is key to their catalytic applications.
- Medium-sized gold clusters exhibit complex structural evolution.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the structural evolution of negatively charged gold clusters (Au(n)(-)) for n = 27-35.
- To identify low-lying isomers and global minimum structures.
Main Methods:
- Photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) with Ar-seeded He supersonic beams for cluster cooling.
- Density-functional theory (DFT) calculations for global minimum searches.
- Basin-hopping algorithm to generate over 200 low-lying isomers per cluster.
Main Results:
- Well-resolved PES spectra revealed low-lying isomers.
- Identified core-shell structures for Au(n)(-) (n = 27, 28, 30, 32-35).
- Observed increasing core atom numbers with cluster size, including one-atom, triangular, and tetrahedral cores.
Conclusions:
- Tetrahedral cores are prevalent in Au(33-35)(-) low-lying structures.
- Structural insights provide a foundation for future chemisorption and catalysis studies.
- The study elucidates the structural landscape of medium-sized gold cluster anions.
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