Recent Progress in Atomically Precise Cu-M Alloy Nanoclusters

Metal nanoclusters (NCs) with dimensions of approximately 3 nm serve as a crucial link between metal-organic complexes and metal nanoparticles, garnering significant interest due to their distinctive molecule-like characteristics. These include well-defined molecular structures, clear HOMO-LUMO transitions, quantized charge, and robust luminescence emission. Atomically precise alloy NCs, in contrast to homometallic NCs, exhibit a wealth of structures and intriguing properties, with their novel attributes often intricately tied to the positions of alloyed elements within the structure, facilitating the exploration of structure-property relationships. A notable subgroup within this category comprises Cu-M (where M represents metals such as Au, Ag, Rh, Ir, Pd, Pt, Zn, Al etc.) alloy NCs. In this review, we initially outline recent advancements in the development of efficient synthetic techniques for Cu-M alloy NCs, emphasizing the underlying physical and chemical properties that enable precise control over their sizes and surface characteristics. Subsequently, we delve into recent progress in structural elucidation techniques for Cu-M alloy NCs. This structural insight is instrumental in comprehensively understanding the structure-property correlations at the molecular level. Finally, we showcase various examples of Cu-M alloy NCs to illustrate their photoluminescent and catalytic properties, shedding light on their diverse functionalities and potential applications.