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Updated: May 2, 2026
Synthesis of Near-Infrared Emitting Gold Nanoclusters for Biological Applications
Published on: March 22, 2020
A chiral gold nanocluster Au20 protected by tetradentate phosphine ligands
Xian-Kai Wan1, Shang-Fu Yuan, Zhi-Wei Lin
1State Key Lab of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Department of Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005 (P.R. China).
Abstract:
The chirality of a gold nanocluster can be generated from either an intrinsically chiral inorganic core or an achiral inorganic core in a chiral environment. The first structural determination of a gold nanocluster containing an intrinsic chiral inorganic core is reported. The chiral gold nanocluster [Au20(PP3)4]Cl4 (PP3=tris(2-(diphenylphosphino)ethyl)phosphine) has been prepared by the reduction of a gold(I)-tetraphosphine precursor in dichloromethane solution. Single-crystal structural determination reveals that the cluster molecular structure has C3 symmetry. It consists of a Au20 core consolidated by four peripheral tetraphosphines. The Au20 core can be viewed as the combination of an icosahedral Au13 and a helical Y-shaped Au7 motif. The identity of this Au20 cluster is confirmed by ESI-MS. The chelation of multidentate phosphines enhances the stability of this Au20 cluster.
