Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 7, 2026

Synthesis of Terpolymers at Mild Temperatures Using Dynamic Sulfur Bonds in PolyS-Divinylbenzene
Published on: May 20, 2019
A Silver Nanocluster Containing Interstitial Sulfur and Unprecedented Chemical Bonds
Xu Liu1,2,3, Jishi Chen1, Jinyun Yuan4
1Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Anhui Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Institute of Solid State Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui, 230031, China.
Abstract:
The emergence of thiolated metal nanoclusters provides opportunities to identify significant and unprecedented phenomena because they are at quantum sizes and can be characterized with X-ray crystallography. Recently silver nanoclusters have received extensive interest owing to their merits, such as low-cost and rich properties. Herein, a thiolated silver nanocluster [Ag46 S7 (SPhMe2 )24 ]NO3 (Ag46 for short) with a face-centered cubic (fcc) structure was successfully synthesized and structurally resolved by X-ray analysis. Most importantly, interstitial sulfur was found in the lattice void of Ag46 without lattice distortion or expansion, indicating that the classic theory of interstitial metal solid solutions might be not applicable at quantum size. Furthermore, unprecedented chemical bonds and unique structural features (such as asymmetrically coordinated μ4 -S) were found in Ag46 and might be related to the interstitial sulfur, which is supported by natural population analyses.
Related Concept Videos
Types of Chemical Bonds
Types of Chemical Bonds
Chemical Bonds
Atoms participate in a chemical bond formation to acquire a completed valence-shell electron configuration similar to that of the noble gas nearest to it in atomic number. Ionic, covalent, and metallic bonds are some of the important types of chemical bonds. Bond energy and bond length determine the strength of a chemical bond.
Types of Chemical Bonds
An ionic bond is formed due to electrostatic attraction between cations and anions. Often, the ions are formed by the transfer of electrons...
Introduction to Chemical Bonds
The electrons of the outermost energy level determine the energetic stability of the atom and its tendency to form chemical bonds with other atoms. The innermost electron shell has a maximum capacity of two electrons, but the next two electron shells can each have a maximum of eight electrons. This is known as the octet rule, which states that, with the exception of the innermost shell, atoms are most stable energetically when they have eight electrons in their valence shell, the...
The Sulfur Cycle
Bond Energies and Bond Lengths

