Neat and Complete: Thiolate-Ligand Exchange on a Silver Molecular Nanoparticle

• Published in: Journal of the American Chemical Society Vol. 136; no. 45; pp. 15865 - 15868
• Main Authors: AbdulHalim, Lina G, Kothalawala, Nuwan, Sinatra, Lutfan, Dass, Amala, Bakr, Osman M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 12.11.2014
• Subjects: catalytic activity; crystals; ligands; nanoparticles; silver
• ISSN: 0002-7863; 1520-5126; 1520-5126
• DOI: 10.1021/ja508860b

Atomically precise thiolate-protected noble metal molecular nanoparticles are a promising class of model nanomaterials for catalysis, optoelectronics, and the bottom-up assembly of true molecular crystals. However, these applications have not fully materialized due to a lack of ligand exchange strategies that add functionality, but preserve the properties of these remarkable particles. Here we present a method for the rapid (<30 s) and complete thiolate-for-thiolate exchange of the highly sought after silver molecular nanoparticle [Ag44(SR)30]−4. Only by using this method were we able to preserve the precise nature of the particles and simultaneously replace the native ligands with ligands containing a variety of functional groups. Crucially, as a result of our method we were able to process the particles into smooth thin films, paving the way for their integration into solution-processed devices.