Evolution from superatomic Au24Ag20 monomers into molecular-like Au43Ag38 dimeric nanoclusters

• Published in: Chemical science (Cambridge) Vol. 13; no. 9; pp. 2778 - 2782
• Main Authors: Xu, Jiayu, Lin, Xiong, Cai, Xiao, Tang, Shisi, Tang, Ancheng, Liu, Xu, Pei, Yong, Zhu, Yan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 02.03.2022; The Royal Society of Chemistry
• Subjects: Catalysts; Chemical reduction; Chemistry; Clusters; Dimers; Evolution; Monomers; Nanoclusters; Nanoparticles
• ISSN: 2041-6520; 2041-6539
• DOI: 10.1039/d1sc07178e

Hierarchical assembly of nanoparticles has been attracting wide interest, as advanced functionalities can be achieved. However, the ability to manipulate structural evolution of artificial nanoparticles into assemblies with atomic precision has been largely unsuccessful. Here we report the evolution from monomeric Au24Au20 into dimeric Au43Ag38 nanoclusters: Au43Ag38 inherits the kernel frameworks from parent Au24Ag20 but exhibits distinct surface motifs; Au24Ag20 is racemic, while Au43Ag38 is mesomeric. Importantly, the evolution from monomers to dimers opens up exciting opportunities exploring currently unknown properties of monomeric and dimeric alloy nanoclusters. The Au24Ag20 clusters show superatomic electronic configurations, while Au43Ag38 clusters have molecular-like characteristics. Furthermore, monomeric Au24Ag20 catalysts readily outperform dimeric Au43Ag38 catalysts in the catalytic reduction of CO2.