Metal nanoparticles (NPs) have been broadly studied in chemical research for fundamentals and applications. However, typical synthesis of NPs yields the product with size distribution even for the highest quality of monodispersity (e.g., ~5%), which has hampered deep understandings of NPs, including the size evolution of quantum state of NPs at the atomic level. Therefore, preparing atomically monodispersed NPs has been the major dream of scientists.<br/>Recently, chemistry of ultrasmall Au NPs (1-3 nm in diameter, often called nanoclusters, NCs) has gained broad attention due to the precise synthesis and structural determination at the atomic level. The atomic monodispersity of NCs enables the characterization of their size/structure by molecular techniques (e.g., mass spectrometry and X-ray crystallography), which allows chemists to develop “molecular chemistry” of NCs based on correlative studies between sizes/structures and properties at the atomic level of precision. Continuous efforts in synthesis and structure determination of atomically-precise Au NCs have provided wide availability of sizes and enriched the structure library.<br/>Despite the recent progress in the chemistry of NCs, some critical questions have not been answered yet. For example, critical sizes and atomic structures for the nonmetal to metal transition are still under investigation due to the difficulty in the atomically-precise synthesis near the transition regime (i.e., ~2 nm). In addition, the effect of alloying on the quantum state of NCs still remains unclear.<br/>In my presentation, I will talk about atomically-precise strategies to answer these questions based on the synthesis and the structure determination of Au NCs with novel size and/or structure. Quantum state of the Au NCs was studied by steady-state and ultrafast spectroscopies. Critical factors unveiled in my work will enable chemists to enhance the functionalities of the NCs by atomically-precise size and/or structure engineering. The research accomplishment is also expected to significantly impact fields of nanomaterials for the applications in catalysis, sensing, and solar energy conversion.<br/>

Atomically-precise chemistry of gold nanoclusters for engineered functional nanomaterials

ACS Fall 2020 Virtual Meeting

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