Deciphering icosahedra structural evolution with atomically precise silver nanoclusters

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Hu, Feng; Yang, Gaoyuan; Zheng, Lu-Ming; Liang, Gui-Jie; Wang, Quan-Ming
• 署名单位: Tsinghua University; Hubei University of Arts & Science
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-10877
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adx6639
• 发表日期: 2025-08-28
• 页码: 921-924
• 关键词: nanoparticles; gold; nucleation; DYNAMICS

摘要

Determining the atomic structure of nanoparticles (NPs) is critical for understanding their structural evolution and properties. However, controlling the growth of multiply-twinned metal NPs remains challenging because of numerous competing pathways. In this work, we report the synthesis of two giant silver icosahedral nanoclusters, [Ag213(C equivalent to CR1)96]5- and [Ag429Cl24(C equivalent to CR2)150]5- (Ag213 and Ag429, R1 =3,4,5-F3C6H2 and R2 = 4-CF3C6H4), achieved through ligand engineering and kinetic control. Single-crystal x-ray diffraction reveals that Ag213 and Ag429 have multilayered icosahedral Ag141 |(Ag13@Ag42@Ag86) and Ag297 (Ag13@Ag42@Ag92@Ag150) cores, respectively. Notably, Ag429 with 260 valence electrons is the largest Ag0-containing nanocluster reported to date. These two giant silver nanoclusters are metallic in nature, as confirmed by their plasmonic absorption and pump-power-dependent excited-state dynamics. Their atomically precise structures support the layer-by-layer evolution from nuclei to seeds of silver icosahedra.