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Updated: Oct 29, 2025
Synthesis of Substrate-Bound Au Nanowires Via an Active Surface Growth Mechanism
Published on: July 18, 2018
Au11Ag6 nanocluster: Controllable preparation, structural determination, and optical property investigation
Chuanjun Zhou1, Hao Li1, Feng Ke1
1Department of Chemistry and Centre for Atomic Engineering of Advanced Materials, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Chemistry for Inorganic/Organic Hybrid Functionalized Materials, Key Laboratory of Structure and Functional Regulation of Hybrid Materials, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, People's Republic of China.
Controlling gold/silver ratios yielded distinct nanoclusters. The Au11Ag6 nanocluster shows excellent stability and strong red photoluminescence, highlighting structure-property relationships in nanomaterials.
Area of Science:
- Nanomaterials Science
- Inorganic Chemistry
- Physical Chemistry
Background:
- Nanocluster structure critically dictates physicochemical properties.
- Precise control over composition is key for tailored nanomaterial applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and characterize novel gold-silver (Au-Ag) nanoclusters with varying Au/Ag ratios.
- To investigate the structural differences and resulting properties of synthesized nanoclusters.
Main Methods:
- One-pot synthesis approach to control Au/Ag molar ratios.
- Structural characterization using single-crystal X-ray diffraction, ESI-TOF MS, XPS, powder XRD, and EPR.
- Photoluminescence spectroscopy to assess optical properties.
Main Results:
- Two distinct Au-Ag nanoclusters, [Au9Ag12(SAdm)4(dppm)6Cl6]3+ and Au11Ag6(dppm)4(SAdm)4(CN)4, were successfully synthesized.
- Both nanoclusters share an icosahedral M13 core but exhibit different surface ligand arrangements.
- The Au11Ag6 nanocluster demonstrated significant stability and strong red photoluminescence in solution.
Conclusions:
- The Au/Ag molar ratio is a critical factor in determining the surface structure and properties of Au-Ag nanoclusters.
- The Au11Ag6 nanocluster's unique structure confers enhanced stability and desirable photoluminescent characteristics.
- This study provides insights into the structure-property relationships of bimetallic nanoclusters for potential applications.
