Enhancement of Photoluminescence Quantum Yield of Silver Clusters by Heavy Atom Effect.

Many ligand-protected metal clusters exhibit phosphorescence at room temperature. However, strategies for improving their phosphorescence quantum yield, a critical parameter of performance, remain poorly developed. In contrast, fluorescent dyes are commonly modified by introducing heavy atoms, such as iodine (I), to enhance intersystem crossing in the excited state, thereby harnessing the heavy atom effect to increase phosphorescence efficiency.

Structural Changes in Atomically Precise Ag Nanoclusters upon Sequential Attachment and Detachment of Secondary Ligands.

Elucidating the structural dynamics of ligand-stabilized noble metal nanoclusters (NCs) is critical for understanding their properties and for developing applications. Ligand rearrangement at NC surfaces is an important contributor to structural change. In this study, we investigate the dynamic behavior of ligand-protected [Ag(L)] NC's (L = 1,3-benzenedithiol) interacting with secondary ligand 2,2'-[1,4-phenylenebis (methylidynenitrilo)] bis[benzenethiol] (referred to as ).

Milling-Induced "Turn-off" Luminescence in Copper Nanoclusters.

Atomically precise copper nanoclusters (NCs) attract research interest due to their intense photoluminescence, which enables their applications in photonics, optoelectronics, and sensing. Exploring these properties requires carefully designed clusters with atomic precision and a detailed understanding of their atom-specific luminescence properties. Here, we report two copper NCs, [Cu(MNA)(DPPE)] and [Cu(MNA-H)], shortly Cu and Cu, protected by 2-mercaptonicotinic acid (MNA-H) and 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane (DPPE), showing "turn-off" mechanoresponsive luminescence.

Extensive Polymerization of Atomically Precise Alloy Metal Clusters During Solid-State Reactions.

Exploring the reactions between atomically precise metal clusters and the consequences of such reactions has been an exciting field of research during the past decade. Initial studies in the area were on reactions between clusters in the solution phase, which proceed through the formation of dimers of reacting clusters. In the present work, we examine the interaction between two atomically precise clusters, [Au(PET)] and [Ag(DMBT)], in the solid state, where PET and DMBT are 2-phenylethanethiol and 2,4-dimethylbenzenethiol, respectively.

Observing atomically precise nanocluster aggregates in solution by mass photometry.

We report the first mass photometric characterization of nanoaggregates of atomically precise nanoclusters (NCs) in solution. The differently-sized nanoaggregates of silver-gold alloy NCs, [AgAu(DPPB)ClO] [ = 1-5 and DPPB = 1,4-bis(diphenylphosphino)butane], formed in solution, were examined by mass photometry (MP) with a protein calibration. In addition, we conducted MP studies of varying solvent composition to understand the structural evolution of nanoaggregates.

Correction: Secondary ligand-induced orthogonal self-assembly of silver nanoclusters into superstructures with enhanced NIR emission.

Correction for 'Secondary ligand-induced orthogonal self-assembly of silver nanoclusters into superstructures with enhanced NIR emission' by Korath Shivan Sugi, , , 2023, https://doi.org/10.1039/d3nr02561f.

Secondary ligand-induced orthogonal self-assembly of silver nanoclusters into superstructures with enhanced NIR emission.

Orthogonal self-assembly is one of the crucial strategies for forming complex and hierarchical structures in biological systems. However, creating such ordered complex structures using synthetic nanoparticles is a challenging task and requires a high degree of control over structure and multiple non-covalent interactions. In this context, nanoarchitectonics serves as an emerging tool to fabricate complex functional materials.

Dissociative reactions of [Au(SR)] at copper oxide nanoparticles and formation of aggregated nanostructures.

Reactions between nanoclusters (NCs) have been studied widely in the recent past, but such processes between NCs and metal-oxide nanoparticles (NPs), belonging to two different size ranges, have not been explored earlier. For the first time, we demonstrate the spontaneous reactions between an atomically precise NC, [Au(PET)] (PET = 2-phenylethanethiolate), and polydispersed copper oxide nanoparticles with an average diameter of 50 nm under ambient conditions. These interparticle reactions result in the formation of alloy NCs and copper-doped NC fragments, which assemble to form nanospheres at the end of the reaction.

Carborane-thiol protected copper nanoclusters: stimuli-responsive materials with tunable phosphorescence.

Atomically precise nanomaterials with tunable solid-state luminescence attract global interest. In this work, we present a new class of thermally stable isostructural tetranuclear copper nanoclusters (NCs), shortly Cu@oCBT, Cu@mCBT and Cu@ICBT, protected by nearly isomeric carborane thiols: -carborane-9-thiol, -carborane-9-thiol and -carborane 12-iodo 9-thiol, respectively. They have a square planar Cu core and a butterfly-shaped CuS staple, which is appended with four respective carboranes.

Carboranethiol-Protected Propeller-Shaped Photoresponsive Silver Nanomolecule.

We report the synthesis, structural characterization, and photophysical properties of a propeller-shaped Ag nanomolecule with six rotary arms, protected with -carborane-9-thiol (MCT) and triphenylphosphine (TPP) ligands. Structural analysis reveals that the nanomolecule has an Ag central icosahedral core with six directly connected silver atoms and two more silver atoms connected through three Ag-S-Ag bridging motifs. While 12 MCT ligands protect the core through metal-thiolate bonds in a 3-6-3-layered fashion, two TPP ligands solely protect the two bridging silver atoms.

Gas phase ion chemistry of titanium-oxofullerene with ligated solvents.

We investigated the gas phase fragmentation events of highly symmetric fullerene-like (FN-like) titanium oxo-cluster anions, [HTiO(OCH)(HOCH)(HO)] (1) and [HTiO(OCH)(HOCH)(HO)] (2). These oxo-clusters contain a closed cage TiO core, protected by a specific number of methoxy, methanol, and water molecules acting as ligands. These dianionic and monoanionic species were generated in the gas phase by electrospray ionization of the H[Ti(μ-O)(OPr)(OH)] (TOF) cluster in methanol.