多策略可控合成原子精度合金纳米团簇

合金纳米团簇作为一类新兴的多功能纳米材料已被广泛用于催化、光学传感以及生物医学成像等研究领域,而纳米团簇的可控合成和结构特征是调节纳米团簇性质并对其进一步利用的基础。尽管当前有关金属纳米团簇可控合成和结构特征的研究主要集中在单金属纳米团簇中,但有关合金纳米团簇原子精度的可控合成也取得了显著的进展。本文综述了配体保护的合金金属纳米团簇原子精度可控合成策略,包括一步合成法、金属交换、配体交换、化学刻蚀、簇间反应、原位两相配体交换以及最新的表面模体交换反应,并对相关合成策略的优缺点进行了详细的讨论和阐述。     

Metal–Organic Gels from Silver Nanoclusters with Aggregation‐Induced Emission and Fluorescence‐to‐Phosphorescence Switching

Luminescent metal nanoclusters (NCs) are emerging as a new class of functional materials that have rich physicochemical properties and wide potential applications. In recent years, it has been found that some metal NCs undergo aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) and an interesting fluorescence‐to‐phosphorescence (F‐P) switching in solutions. However, insights of both the AIE and the F‐P switching remain largely unknown. Now, gelation of water soluble, atomically precise Ag₉ NCs is achieved by the addition of antisolvent. Self‐assembly of Ag₉ NCs into entangled fibers was confirmed, during which AIE was observed together with an F‐P switching occurring within a narrow time scale. Structural evaluation indicates the fibers are highly ordered. The self‐assembly of Ag₉ NCs and their photoluminescent property are thermally reversible, making the metal–organic gels good candidates for luminescent ratiometric thermometers.     

三种碳材料上原位电沉积AuPt合金的催化性能

在碳纸（CP）及涂覆了碳粉科琴黑（KB）或石墨烯纳米片（GNs）的碳纸上,原位电沉积了AuPt合金,制备成CP/AuPt、CP/KB/AuPt、CP/GNs/AuPt三种空气电极。对比研究发现,以石墨烯纳米片为载体的CP/GNs/AuPt空气电极上,AuPt合金载量高,颗粒分散均匀,粒径约为100 nm左右,Au和Pt的含量分别为78.84%（n/n）和21.16%（n/n）。在0.1 mol·L^-1 KOH溶液中氧还原反应的起峰电势为0.93 V,催化活性和稳定性优于其他两种空气电极。分析认为,石墨烯纳米片具有高导电性、高比表面积以及较多的缺陷活性位点,有利于AuPt合金在其上均匀电沉积且沉积载量较高,同时GNs本身具有一定的催化活性,两者能够产生协同催化作用,提高了CP/GNs/AuPt电极的催化性能。     

三种碳材料上原位电沉积AuPt合金的催化性能

在碳纸(CP)及涂覆了碳粉科琴黑(KB)或石墨烯纳米片(GNs)的碳纸上,原位电沉积了Au Pt合金,制备成CP/Au Pt、CP/KB/Au Pt、CP/GNs/Au Pt三种空气电极。对比研究发现,以石墨烯纳米片为载体的CP/GNs/Au Pt空气电极上,Au Pt合金载量高,颗粒分散均匀,粒径约为100 nm,Au和Pt的含量分别为78.84%(n/n)和21.16%(n/n)。在0.1 mol·L-1 KOH溶液中氧还原反应的起峰电势为0.93 V,催化活性和稳定性优于其他两种空气电极。分析认为,石墨烯纳米片具有高导电性、高比表面积以及较多的缺陷活性位点,有利于Au Pt合金在其上均匀电沉积且沉积载量较高,同时GNs本身具有一定的催化活性,两者能够产生协同催化作用,提高了CP/GNs/Au Pt电极的催化性能。     

AuPt Bipyramid Nanoframes as Multifunctional Platforms for In Situ Monitoring of the Reduction of Nitrobenzene and Enhanced Electrocatalytic Methanol Oxidation

Multifunctional metal nanostructures with a hollow feature, especially for nanoframes, are highly attractive owing to their high surface-to-volume ratios. However, pre-grown metal nanocrystals are always involved during the preparation procedure, and a synthetic strategy without the use of a pre-grown template is still a challenge. In this article, a template-free strategy is reported for the preparation of novel AuPt alloy nanoframes through simply mixing HAuCl₄ and H₂PtCl₆ under mild conditions. The alloy nanostructures show a bipyramid-frame hollow architecture with the existence of only the ten ridges and absence of their side faces. This is the first report of bipyramid-like nanoframes and a template-free method under mild conditions. This configuration merges the plasmonic features of Au and highly active catalytic sites of Pt in a single nanostructure, making it an ideal multifunctional platform for catalyzing and monitoring the catalytic reaction in real time. The superior catalytic activity is demonstrated by using the reduction of nitrobenzene to the corresponding aminobenzene as a model reaction. More importantly, the AuPt nanoframes can track the reduction process on the basis of the SERS signals of the reactants, intermediates, and products, which helps to reveal the reaction mechanism. In addition, the AuPt nanoframes show much higher electrocatalytic properties toward the methanol oxidation reaction than commercial Pt/C electrocatalysts.     

Metal‐Enhanced Fluorescence of CdTe Nanocrystals in Aqueous Solution

Metal‐enhanced fluorescence of semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) is investigated. There is very little attention paid to the metal‐enhanced fluorescence in aqueous solution, which has great potential applications in bioscience. In this work, we directly observe metal‐enhanced fluorescence of CdTe NC solution by simply mixing CdTe NCs and Au nanoparticles, both of which are negatively charged. In order to study this kind of photoluminescence enhancement in aqueous solutions, we propose a calibration method, which takes into account the light attenuation in solutions. After consideration of the light weakening in transmission, the maximal PL enhancement is about 3 times as large as the ones without Au NPs. Some factors related to the enhanced magnitude of fluorescence, for instance, the concentration and the molar feed ratio of CdTe NCs and Au NPs, are studied in detail. Furthermore, the decreased lifetimes of CdTe NCs induced by Au NPs are also obtained, which are in accord with the enhancement of the photoluminescence.     

Metal–Organic Gels from Silver Nanoclusters with Aggregation-Induced Emission and Fluorescence-to-Phosphorescence Switching

Luminescent metal nanoclusters (NCs) are emerging as a new class of functional materials that have rich physicochemical properties and wide potential applications. In recent years, it has been found that some metal NCs undergo aggregation-induced emission (AIE) and an interesting fluorescence-to-phosphorescence (F-P) switching in solutions. However, insights of both the AIE and the F-P switching remain largely unknown. Now, gelation of water soluble, atomically precise Ag₉ NCs is achieved by the addition of antisolvent. Self-assembly of Ag₉ NCs into entangled fibers was confirmed, during which AIE was observed together with an F-P switching occurring within a narrow time scale. Structural evaluation indicates the fibers are highly ordered. The self-assembly of Ag₉ NCs and their photoluminescent property are thermally reversible, making the metal–organic gels good candidates for luminescent ratiometric thermometers.     

Underpotential Deposition‐Induced Synthesis of Composition‐Tunable Pt?Cu Nanocrystals and Their Catalytic Properties

Pt? Cu alloy octahedral nanocrystals (NCs) have been synthesized successfully by using N,N‐dimethylformamide as both the solvent and the reducing agent in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride. Cu underpotential deposition (UPD) is found to play a key role in the formation of the Pt? Cu alloy NCs. The composition in the Pt? Cu alloy can be tuned by adjusting the ratio of metal precursors in solution. However, the Cu content in the Pt? Cu alloy NCs cannot exceed 50 %. Due to the fact that Cu precursor cannot be reduced to metallic copper and the Cu content cannot exceed 50 %, we achieved the formation of the Pt? Cu alloy by using Cu UPD on the Pt surface. In addition, the catalytic activities of Pt? Cu alloy NCs with different composition were investigated in electrocatalytic oxidation of formic acid. The results reveal that the catalytic performance is strongly dependent on Pt? Cu alloy composition. The sample of Pt₅₀Cu₅₀ exhibits excellent activity in electrocatalytic oxidation of formic acid.     

Atomically Precise Alloy Nanoclusters

Metal nanoclusters (NCs) have a particle size of about one nanometer, which makes them the smallest unit that can give a function to a substance. In addition, metal NCs possess physical and chemical properties that are different from those of the corresponding bulk metals. Metal NCs with such characteristics are expected to be important for use in nanotechnology. Research on the precise synthesis of metal NCs and elucidation of their physical/chemical properties and functions is being actively conducted. When metal NCs are alloyed, it is possible to obtain further various electronic and geometrical structures and functions. Thus, research on alloy NCs has become a hot topic in the study of metal NCs and the number of publications on alloy NCs has increased explosively in recent years. Such publications have provided much insight into the effects of alloying on the electronic structure and function of metal NCs. However, the rapid increase in knowledge has made it difficult for researchers (especially those new to the field) to grasp all of it. Therefore, in this review, we summarize the reported chemical composition, geometrical structure, electronic structure, and physical and chemical properties of Au_n−xM_x(SR)_m, Ag_n−xM_x(SR)_m, Au_n−xM_x(PR₃)_l(SR)_m, and Ag_n−xM_x(PR₃)_l(SR)_m (Au=gold, Ag=silver, M=heteroatom, PR₃=phosphine, and SR=thiolate) NCs. This review is expected to help researchers understand the characteristics of alloy NCs and lead to clear design guidelines to develop new alloy NCs with intended functions.     

Recyclable fluorescent gold nanocluster membrane for visual sensing of copper(II) ion in aqueous solution

Recently, metal-selective fluorescent chemosensors have attracted intense attention for their simple and real-time tracking of metal ions in environmental samples. However, most of the existing fluorescent sensors are one-off sensors and thus suffer from large amount of reagent consumption, significant experimental cost and raising the risk of environmental pollution. In this paper, we developed a green (low reagent consumption, low-toxicity reagent use), recyclable, and visual sensor for Cu(2+) in aqueous solution by using a fluorescent gold nanoclusters membrane (FGM) as the sensing unit, basing on our findings on gold nanoclusters (Au NCs) that the bovine serum albumin (BSA)-coated Au NCs exhibit excellent membrane-forming ability under the isoelectric point of BSA, and thus enable us to obtain a new type of sensing membrane (i.e. FGM) by denaturing Au NCs; the fluorescence of FGM can be significantly quenched by Cu(2+) ion, and the quenched fluorescence can be totally recovered by histidine; the as-prepared FGM is very stable and recyclable, which makes it an ideal sensing material.     

Pd–Pb Alloy Nanocrystals with Tailored Composition for Semihydrogenation: Taking Advantage of Catalyst Poisoning

Metallic nanocrystals (NCs) with well‐defined sizes and shapes represent a new family of model systems for establishing structure–function relationships in heterogeneous catalysis. Here in this study, we show that catalyst poisoning can be utilized as an efficient strategy for nanocrystals shape and composition control, as well as a way to tune the catalytic activity of catalysts. Lead species, a well‐known poison for noble‐metal catalysts, was investigated in the growth of Pd NCs. We discovered that Pb atoms can be incorporated into the lattice of Pd NCs and form Pd–Pb alloy NCs with tunable composition and crystal facets. As model catalysts, the alloy NCs with different compositions showed different selectivity in the semihydrogenation of phenylacetylene. Pd–Pb alloy NCs with better selectivity than that of the commercial Lindlar catalyst were discovered. This study exemplified that the poisoning effect in catalysis can be explored as efficient shape‐directing reagents in NC growth, and more importantly, as a strategy to tailor the performance of catalysts with high selectivity.     

Insight of the photoluminescence of atomically precise bimetallic nanoclusters with free electrons

Noble-metal nanoclusters with emission properties are promising candidtes for cell imaging, biosensing, photo-therapy applications due to their ultra-small size, good photostability, and high biocompatibility. It is of great importance to realize the atomic precision of such metal nanoclusters (NCs) because they allow us to investigate the origin of fluorescence at the atomic level. However, compared to quantum dots (QDs) and organic dyes, noble metal nanoclusters usually suffered from low quantum yield, which significantly limited their applications. Doping with other metal atoms is an effective strategy to enhance the fluorescent properties of metal NCs. Therefore, bimetallic nanoclusters possess enhanced emission properties relative to their monometallic counterparts. Although a couple of reviews have existed for bimetallic nanocluster, few of them concern their emissive properties. In this context, the emissive properties of atomically precise bimetallic nanoclusters are summarized in this minireview. Synergistic effect, state of aggregation, assembly, and isomerism on the fluorescence of bimetallic clusters and structure-photoluminescence property correlations are also discussed.     

The density of surface ligands regulates the luminescence of thiolated gold nanoclusters and their metal ion response

The fascinating luminescence properties of gold nanoclusters(AuNCs) have drawn considerable research interests,and been widely harnessed for a wide range of applications.However,a fundamental understanding towards ligand density's role in the luminescence properties of these ultrasmall AuNCs remains unclear yet.In this communication,through systematic investigation of surface chemistries of glutathione-protected Au NCs(GSH-Au NCs) with diffe rent density of GSH as well as other thiolates,it is discovered that the density of surface ligands can significantly regulate the luminescence properties of AuNCs.Fluorescence lifetime spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that AuNCs with a higher density of electron-rich ligands facilitate their luminescence generation.Moreover,differences in the surface coverage of AuNCs can also affect their interactions with foreign species,as illustrated by significantly different fluorescence quenching capability of GSH-AuNCs with different ligand density towards Hg~(2+).This study provides new insight into the intriguing luminescence properties of metal NCs,which is hoped to stimulate further research on the design of metal NCs with strong luminescence and sensitive/specific responses for promising optoelectronic,sensing and imaging applications.     

Cu(2+)-assisted synthesis of hexoctahedral Au-Pd alloy nanocrystals with high-index facets

Controlled syntheses of multicomponent metal nanocrystals (NCs) and high-index surfaces have attracted increasing attention due to the specific physical and chemical properties of such NCs. Taking advantage of copper underpotential deposition as a bridge, hexoctahedral Au-Pd alloy NCs with {hkl} facets exposed were successfully synthesized, while phase separation occurred in the absence of Cu(2+) ions. The as-prepared hexoctahedral Au-Pd alloy NCs exhibited very excellent performance in terms of both formic acid electro-oxidation and methanol tolerance due to synergism between the high-index facets and the alloy.     

Characterization of carbon-supported AuPt nanoparticles for electrocatalytic methanol oxidation reaction

In view of the recent finding that the bimetallic AuPt nanoparticles prepared by molecular-capping-based colloidal synthesis and subsequent assembly on carbon black support and thermal activation treatment exhibit alloy properties, which is in sharp contrast to the bimetallic miscibility gap known for the bulk counterparts in a wide composition range, there is a clear need to assess the electrocatalytic properties of the catalysts prepared with different bimetallic composition and different thermal treatment temperatures. This paper reports recent results of such an investigation of the electrocatalytic methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) activities of the carbon-supported AuPt nanoparticle catalysts with different bimetallic composition and thermal treatment temperatures. Au(m)Pt(100)(-)(m) nanoparticles of 2-3 nm core sizes with different atomic compositions ranging from 10% to 90% Au (m = 10 approximately 90) have been synthesized by controlling the feeding of the metal precursors used in the synthesis. The electrocatalytic MOR activities of the carbon-supported AuPt bimetallic catalysts were characterized in alkaline electrolytes. The catalysts with 65% to 85% Au and treated at 500 degrees C were found to exhibit maximum electrocatalytic activities in the alkaline electrolytes. The findings, together with a comparison with some well-documented catalysts as well as recent experimental and theoretical modeling results, have revealed important insights into the participation of CO(ad) and OH(ad) on Au sites in the catalytic reaction of Pt in the AuPt alloys with approximately 75% Au. The insights are useful for understanding the correlation of the bifunctional electrocatalytic activity of the bimetallic nanoparticle catalysts with the bimetallic composition and the thermal treatment temperatures.     

High‐Level Incorporation of Silver in Gold Nanoclusters: Fluorescence Redshift upon Interaction with Hydrogen Peroxide and Fluorescence Enhancement with Herbicide

High‐level incorporation of Ag in Au nanoclusters (NCs) is conveniently achieved by controlling the concentration of Ag⁺ in the synthesis of bovine serum albumin (BSA)‐protected Au NCs, and the resulting structure is determined to be bimetallic Ag₂₈Au₁₀‐BSA NCs through a series of characterizations including energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, mass spectroscopy, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, together with density functional theory simulations. Interestingly, the Ag₂₈Au₁₀ NCs exhibit a significant fluorescence redshift rather than quenching upon interaction with hydrogen peroxide, providing a new approach to the detection of hydrogen peroxide through direct comparison of their fluorescence peaks. Furthermore, the Ag₂₈Au₁₀ NCs are also used for the sensitive and selective detection of herbicide through fluorescence enhancement. The detection limit for herbicide (0.1 nm ) is far below the health value established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; such sensitive detection was not achieved by using AuAg NCs with low‐level incorporation of Ag or by using the individual metal NCs.     

Luminescent Noble Metal Nanoclusters as an Emerging Optical Probe for Sensor Development

In the past few years, highly luminescent noble metal nanoclusters (e.g., Au and Ag NCs or Au/Ag NCs in short) have emerged as a class of promising optical probes for the construction of high‐performance optical sensors because of their ultrasmall size (<2 nm), strong luminescence, good photostability, excellent biocompatibility, and unique metal‐core@ligand‐shell structure. In this Focus Review, we briefly summarize the common syntheses for water‐soluble highly‐luminescent thiolate‐ and protein‐protected Au/Ag NCs and their interesting luminescence properties, highlight recent progress in their use as optical sensors with an emphasis on the mechanisms underlying their selectivity, and finally discuss approaches to improving their sensitivity. The scope of the works surveyed is confined to highly luminescent thiolate‐ and protein‐protected Au/Ag NCs.     

11-Mercaptoundecanoic acid functionalized gold nanoclusters as fluorescent probes for the sensitive detection of Cu2+ and Fe3+ ions

Metal ions are physiologically essential,but excessive metal ions may cause severe risk to plants and animals.Here,we prepared gold nanoclusters(Au NCs) protected by 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid(11-MUA),which have excellent fluorescence properties for the detection of metal ions.The results showed that the copper ions(Cu~(2+)) and iron ions(Fe~(3+)) in the solution have obvious quenching effect on the fluorescence intensity of Au NCs.The detection range of Fe~(3+) was 0.8–4.5 mmol/L(R~2= 0.992) and 4.5–11.0 mmol/L(R~2= 0.997).And Cu~(2+) has a lower linear range(0.1–1.0 mmol/L,R2= 0.993).When EDTA was added into the reaction system,it was observed that the quenching effect of Cu~(2+) and Fe~(3+)on Au NCs showed different phenomenon.Then,the effect of metal ions on the fluorescence of Au NCs was investigated.The selective detection of Cu~(2+) was achieved by EDTA masking of Fe~(3+).In addition,we realized the metal ions detection application of Au NCs in the serum     

Emerging applications of near-infrared fluorescent metal nanoclusters for biological imaging

Recent advances in the development of near-infrared fluorescent metal nanoclusters for bioimaging applications have been thoroughly overviewed.     

Hyperbranched polymers meet colloid nanocrystals: a promising avenue to multifunctional,robust nanohybrids

Colloid nanocrystals (NCs) mainly include metal nanocrystals, semiconductor nanocrystals, and insulator nanocrystals, exhibiting interesting size-dependent electrical, optical, magnetic, and chemical properties that cannot be achieved by their bulk counterparts. However, there’s a critical problem that NCs tend to aggregate, which induces degradation of their performance. Hyperbranched polymers (HPs) possess excellent attributes of three-dimensional topology, low viscosity, good solubility, and plenty of modifiable terminal groups. The combination of NCs and HPs to form nanohybrids cannot only endow NCs with multifunctionality, uniform dispersibility, and splendid solubility but also can impart extra properties to HPs. This article reviews the recent progress and state-of-the-art of the synthesis and applications of NCs-HPs nanohybrids (NHBs). NHBs can be obtained by three approaches: HPs first (i.e., NCs are formed with the stabilizer of HPs), NCs first (i.e., HPs are grafted on the surface of as-prepared NCs), and ligand exchange (the original ligand of NCs is replaced with HPs). Various HPs including hyperbranched poly(amidoamine), polyethylenimine, polyglycerol, polyester, polyamide, polyurethane, and poly(3-ethyl-3-hydroxymethyloxetane), as well as sorts of NCs such as metals (e.g., Ag, Au, Pd, Pt, and Rh), quantum dots (e.g., ZnO, CdS, CdTe, CdSe, and SnO₂), magnetic oxides (e.g., Fe₃O₄), rare earth compounds, and so forth, have been used to obtain NHBs. The NHBs can be applied in nanocatalysis, antimicrobia, biosensor, biological labeling, and other fields promising their bright future.