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Updated: Jan 8, 2026
Synthesis of Near-Infrared Emitting Gold Nanoclusters for Biological Applications
Published on: March 22, 2020
Sc(OTf)3-induced, selective removal of alkynyl ligands from heteroleptic Au13 and Au38 nanoclusters
Zengguang Huang1, Shinjiro Takano1, Tatsuya Tsukuda1
1Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
Abstract:
The heteroleptic gold nanoclusters [Au13(dppe)5(PA)2]3+ (dppe = 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane; PA- = phenylacetylide) and [Au38(PPh3)4(PA)20]2+ underwent the removal of PA- and an [Au(PA)2]- staple unit, respectively, via reaction with the Lewis acid scandium trifluoromethanesulfonate (Sc(OTf)3). The surface-exposed [Au37(PPh3)4(PA)18]3+ obtained from the Au38 nanocluster self-assembled into a dimer with two di-isocyanide linker molecules. This non-thermal strategy provides a foundation for the targeted synthesis of novel AuNCs with well-defined naked sites that can act as selective catalysts or building blocks for assembled materials.
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