Authors: Cong-Cong Shu, Harry W. T. Morgan, Lei Qiao, John E. McGrady, Zhong-Ming Sun
Published: 2020-07-10
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17187-4
Source: Full article
AbstractGold nanoparticles have been used for centuries, both for decoration and in medical applications. More recently, many of the major advances in cluster chemistry have involved well-defined clusters containing tens or hundreds of atoms, either with or without a ligand shell. In this paper we report the synthesis of two gold/lead clusters, [Au8Pb33]6− and [Au12Pb44]8−, both of which contain nido [Au@Pb11]3− icosahedra surrounding a core of Au atoms. Analogues of these large clusters are not found in the corresponding Ag chemistry: instead, the Ag-centered nido icosahedron, [Ag@Pb11]3−, is the only isolated product. The structural chemistry, along with the mass spectrometry which shows the existence of [Au2Pb11]2− but not [Ag2Pb11]2−, leads us to propose that the former species is the key intermediate in the growth of the larger clusters. Density functional theory indicates that secondary π-type interactions between the [Au@Pb11]3− ligands and the gold core play a significant part in stabilizing the larger clusters.