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Updated: Oct 26, 2025

Construction and Systematical Symmetric Studies of a Series of Supramolecular Clusters with Binary or Ternary Ammonium Triphenylacetates
Published on: February 15, 2016
Rod-Shaped Silver Supercluster Unveiling Strong Electron Coupling between Substituent Icosahedral Units
Shang-Fu Yuan1, Cong-Qiao Xu2, Wen-Di Liu1
1Department of Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics and Molecular Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
The first linear silver supercluster based on icosahedral Ag13 units has been constructed via bridging of dpa ligands: Ag61(dpa)27(SbF6)4 (Hdpa = dipyridylamine) (Ag). Single-crystal X-ray diffraction reveals that this rod-shaped cluster consists of four vertex-sharing Ag13 icosahedra in a linear arrangement. This Ag cluster represents the longest one-dimensional metal nanocluster with a resolved structure. Unprecedented electron coupling develops between their constituent Ag13 units. Theoretical studies disclose that the stabilities of the two superclusters are dictated by a strong interaction between the Ag13 units as well as the ligand effect of the dpa-Ag motifs. The quantum size effect accounts for the significant enhancement of the metal-related absorptions and the red shift at the near-infrared region as the length of the cluster increases. This work sheds light on the evolution of one-dimensional materials and an understanding of the electronic communication between the constituent clusters.
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