Mixed dithiolate durene-DT and monothiolate phenylethanethiolate protected Au130 nanoparticles with discrete core and core-ligand energy states.

A new type of gold nanoparticle with interesting energetics has been created by employing a mixture of dithiol durene (Durene-DT) and monothiol phenylethanethiol (PhC2S) in the synthesis. The average composition of these mixed thiolate clusters is characterized to be Au(130)(Durene-DT)(29)(PhC2S)(22). Continuous quantized core charging behaviors were observed at lower potentials in voltammetric measurements, while ligand reaction and core-ligand interactions were observed at higher potentials.

Monolayer reactions of protected Au nanoclusters with monothiol tiopronin and 2,3-dithiol dimercaptopropanesulfonate.

The novel thiol bridging "staple motif RS-Au-SR" discovered at the Au-thiolate interface has tremendously advanced the structural understanding of monolayer protected Au clusters (AuMPCs). In this paper, multidentate dithiol ligands are introduced into the monolayer of the Au clusters. The impacts of dithiols on the Au-monothiolate interfacial bonding and related physical properties are explored.