Linker driven site-specific catalysis in atomically precise silver cluster assemblies.

Metal nanoclusters (NCs) exhibit potential as catalysts for electrochemical studies, providing atomic-level insights into mechanisms. However, it remains elusive to construct an integrated catalyst with a molecular-level understanding of its mechanism, especially in silver cluster assemblies. In this study, we have shown that atomically precise Ag cluster assemblies Ag-py, Ag-pyz, Ag-bpy, Ag-bpa, Ag-azopy, (where Ag = secondary building unit, Py = pyridine, pyz = pyrazine, bpy = 4,4'-bipyridine, bpa = 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethane, and azopy = 4,4'-azopyridine) serve as paradigms for demonstrating the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), where the catalytic activity is fine-tuned using two functional units: the cluster core and the linkers.