A 20-core copper(I) nanocluster as electron-hole recombination inhibitor on TiO nanosheets for enhancing photocatalytic H evolution.

For the design of atom-precise copper nanoclusters, besides the exploration of their aesthetic cage-like architectures, their structural modulation and potential applications are being extensively explored. Herein, an atom-precise 20-core copper(I)-alkynyl nanocluster (UJN-Cu20) protected by ethinyloestradiol ligands issynthesized. By virtue of outer-shell hydroxyl groups, UJN-Cu20 could be uniformly modified on the surface of TiO nanosheets hydrogen bonding interactions, thus forming an efficient nanocomposite photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution.