Hexavalent Octahedral Template: A Neutral High-Nucleus Silver Alkynyl Nanocluster Emitting Infrared Light

The first silver nanocluster with an octahedral template of TeO₆^6- was synthesized as a neutral 36-nucleus nanocluster, and its structure was demonstrated using single-crystal X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The peripheral ligands of the cagelike skeleton of the nanocluster are CF₃COO^- and ^tBuC≡C^-. During the synthesis, the TeO₆^6- template arranged the nanocluster, and a 36-nucleus nanocluster was formed. The effect of the template nature was displayed on the structural features of the nanocluster in comparison with an 8-nucleus cluster, with the same synthesis conditions. The photoluminescence and UV-vis absorption analyses of the nanocluster were also investigated. The nanocluster displayed near-infrared luminescence emission at 690 nm.