Conducting Flexible Single Crystalline Silver Nanocluster Chain

Atomically precise silver nanoclusters (AgNCs) represent an emerging class of functional materials for constructing periodically extended architectures with tunable properties. In particular, the 1D architecture of AgNCs is highly attractive owing to their ability to provide confined pathways for charge transport. In contrast to conventional soft-interaction-driven AgNC assemblies, directional coordination or covalent bonding provides a more effective route to structurally robust, electronically conducting 1D AgNC architectures. Herein, we have explored the synthesis and detailed electronic property study of a 1D periodic Ag₆ nanocluster chain (Ag₆NCC), formed through partially covalent Ag-S intercluster bridging. Interestingly, Ag₆NCC exhibits remarkable mechanical elasticity-a property rarely exhibited by discrete single-crystalline AgNCs. Electrical measurements reveal that Ag₆NCC exhibits ideal ohmic transport and a markedly high size-dependent conductivity (1-3 S/cm), enabled by a continuous sulfur-bridged 1D charge-transport pathway. Low-operating-voltage transistor devices with Ag₆NCC exhibit gate-tunable semiconducting behavior with a saturation-regime field-effect mobility (µ_FET) of 2.6 cm²/Vs. This work highlights the potential of a mechanically resilient 1D AgNC chain with high charge-carrier mobility for next-generation nanoelectronics.