Vapor Infiltration Synthesis of Indium Sulfide Magic Size Cluster

Area of Science:

• Nanomaterials Science
• Chemical Synthesis
• Materials Chemistry

Background:

• Atomically precise clusters, or magic size clusters, are synthesized in solution for uniform nanoscale materials.
• Vapor infiltration offers a promising route for in-situ material synthesis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report the synthesis of magic size clusters via vapor infiltration directly within a polymer thin film.
• To investigate the formation and properties of indium-sulfide (In6S6) clusters.

Main Methods:

• Vapor infiltration of trimethylindium and hydrogen sulfide into poly(methyl methacrylate).
• Sequential infiltration technique for atomic layer deposition precursors.
• Density functional theory calculations to evaluate the synthetic pathway.

Main Results:

• Formation of uniform magic size clusters, identified as In6S6(CH3)6.
• Cluster properties remained consistent across multiple polymer types and processing conditions.
• Synthesized clusters exhibited air stability and UV-Vis spectra independent of infiltration cycles.

Conclusions:

• Vapor infiltration enables energetically favorable, precision synthesis of magic size clusters within polymer matrices.
• This method provides a scalable and robust route to uniform In6S6 clusters.
• The findings suggest a new paradigm for nanoscale materials fabrication.