选择性控制的配体工程在金团簇催化中的作用

金团簇表面的硫醇配体影响着团簇的催化性质,尤其是选择性.我们采用在真空条件下通过程序升温的方法逐渐剥除金团簇表面的硫醇配体来制备催化剂,利用透射电镜,红外光谱对催化剂结构进行表征,以硝基化合物催化还原反应为模型反应,详细研究了配体对催化活性和选择性的影响.研究发现因配体被剥离导致底物更容易接近团簇表面,最终使得反应转换率大幅升高.实验结果还表明金团簇催化剂催化不同官能团取代的底物显示了良好的官能团兼容性,有吸电子效应的硫配体使团簇表面带正电荷,进而避免苯胺衍生物的产生.     

CO oxidation over ceria supported Au22 nanoclusters: Shape effect of the support

CO oxidation over ceria-supported Au₂₂ nanoclusters shows strong dependence on the support shape: the lattice oxygen in CeO₂ rods is more reactive than in the cubes and thus make rods a superior support for Au nanoclusters in catalyzing low temperature CO oxidation.     

The Origin of the Photoluminescence Enhancement of Gold‐Doped Silver Nanoclusters: The Importance of Relativistic Effects and Heteronuclear Gold–Silver Bonds

The weak photoluminescence of silver nanoclusters prevents their broad application as luminescent nanomaterials. Recent experiments, however, have shown that gold doping can significantly enhance the photoluminescence intensity of Ag₂₉ nanoclusters but the molecular and physical origins of this effect remain unknown. Therefore, we have computationally explored the geometric and electronic structures of Ag₂₉ and gold‐doped Ag_29?xAu_x (x=1–5) nanoclusters in the S₀ and S₁ states. We found that 1) relativistic effects that are mainly due to the Au atoms play an important role in enhancing the fluorescence intensity, especially for highly doped Ag₂₆Au₃, Ag₂₅Au₄, and Ag₂₄Au₅, and that 2) heteronuclear Au?Ag bonds can increase the stability and regulate the fluorescence intensity of isomers of these gold‐doped nanoclusters. These novel findings could help design doped silver nanoclusters with excellent luminescence properties.     

Atomically Precise Nanocluster Assemblies Encapsulating Plasmonic Gold Nanorods

The self‐assembled structures of atomically precise, ligand‐protected noble metal nanoclusters leading to encapsulation of plasmonic gold nanorods (GNRs) is presented. Unlike highly sophisticated DNA nanotechnology, this strategically simple hydrogen bonding‐directed self‐assembly of nanoclusters leads to octahedral nanocrystals encapsulating GNRs. Specifically, the p‐mercaptobenzoic acid (pMBA)‐protected atomically precise silver nanocluster, Na₄[Ag₄₄(pMBA)₃₀], and pMBA‐functionalized GNRs were used. High‐resolution transmission and scanning transmission electron tomographic reconstructions suggest that the geometry of the GNR surface is responsible for directing the assembly of silver nanoclusters via H‐bonding, leading to octahedral symmetry. The use of water‐dispersible gold nanoclusters, Au_≈250(pMBA)_n and Au₁₀₂(pMBA)₄₄, also formed layered shells encapsulating GNRs. Such cluster assemblies on colloidal particles are a new category of precision hybrids with diverse possibilities.     

Bonding and Acidity of the Formal Hydride in the Prototypical Au9(PPh3)8H2+ Nanocluster

The role of hydrogen atoms as surface ligands on metal nanoclusters is of profound importance but remains difficult to directly study. While hydrogen atoms often appear to be incorporated formally as hydrides, evidence suggests that they donate electrons to the cluster's delocalized superatomic orbitals and may consequently behave as acidic protons that play key roles in synthetic or catalytic mechanisms. Here we directly test this assertion for the prototypical Au₉(PPh₃)₈H²⁺ nanocluster, formed by addition of a hydride to the well-characterized Au₉(PPh₃)₈³⁺. Using gas-phase infrared spectroscopy, we were able to unambiguously isolate Au₉(PPh₃)₈H²⁺ and Au₉(PPh₃)₈D²⁺, revealing an Au−H stretching mode at 1528 cm⁻¹ that shifts to 1038 cm⁻¹ upon deuteration. This shift is greater than the maximum expected for a typical harmonic potential, suggesting a potential governing cluster-H bonding that has some square-well character consistent with the hydrogen nucleus behaving as a metal atom in the cluster core. Complexing this cluster with very weak bases reveals a redshift of 37 cm⁻¹ in the Au−H vibration, consistent with those typically seen for moderately acidic groups in gas phase molecules and providing an estimate of the acidity of Au₉(PPh₃)₈H²⁺, at least with regard to its surface reactivity.     

Perfect Core-Shell Octahedral B@B38+, Be@B38, and Zn@B38 with an Octa-Coordinate Center as Superatoms Following the Octet Rule

Planar, tubular, cage-like, and bilayer boron clusters B_n^+/0/− (n=3∼48) have been observed in joint experimental and theoretical investigations in the past two decades. Based on extensive global searches augmented with first-principles theory calculations, we predict herein the smallest perfect core-shell octahedral borospherene O_h B@B₃₈⁺ ( 1 ) and its endohedral metallo-borospherene analogs O_h Be@B₃₈ ( 2 ), and O_h Zn@B₃₈ ( 3 ) which, with an octa-coordinate B, Be or Zn atom located exactly at the center, turn out to be the well-defined global minima of the systems highly stable both thermodynamically and dynamically. B@B₃₈⁺ ( 1 ) represents the first boron-containing molecule reported to date which contains an octa-coordinate B center covalently coordinated by eight face-capping boron atoms at the corners of a perfect cube in the first coordination sphere. Detailed natural bonding orbital (NBO) and adaptive natural density partitioning (AdNDP) bonding analyses indicate that these high-symmetry core-shell complexes X@B₃₈^+/0/− (X=B, Be, Zn) as super-noble gas atoms follow the octet rule in coordination bonding patterns (1S²1P⁶), with one delocalized 9c-2e S-type coordination bond and three delocalized 39c-2e P-type coordination bonds formed between the octa-coordinate X center and its octahedral O_h B₃₈ ligand to effectively stabilize the systems. Their IR, Raman, and UV-Vis spectra are computationally simulated to facilitate their spectroscopic characterizations.     

Anti-amyloid nanoclusters for the treatment of brain hazards associated with incurable neurodegenerative diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) have no cure and pose a serious threat to human health. The accumulated amyloid has been the therapeutic target of various studies for over a decade, but there is a lack of effective treatments due to various limitations, such as the difficulty to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and unfavorable bioaccumulation. To overcome these challenges, ultra-small metal nanoclusters (MNCs) (<2 nm) have emerged as promising new agents. Simple modifications of MNCs efficiently cross the BBB to reach the brain and dissociate amyloid fibrils into less toxic species. In addition, the enzymatic behavior of MNCs facilitates the scavenging of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and alleviates neuroinflammation. Herein, we summarize the reported anti-amyloid MNCs. Multiple promising functions of MNCs that may alleviate the harms of neurodegenerative diseases are exhibited. The physicochemical properties that influence the inhibition and degradation of common amyloid fibrils, including alpha-synuclein (α-syn) and amyloid beta-peptide (Aβ) are discussed. The prospect of optimizing MNCs to suppress more harm in the brain is presented to facilitate the development of practical therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.     

异质结型AgBr/CuO光催化剂的合成、光崔化活性及再生

采用沉淀法制备了具有p-n异质结结构的AgBr/CuO可见光催化剂,对其结构进行了表征,通过甲基橙溶液的降解率评价了AgBr/CuO的光催化活性,并通过活性物种测试及能带结构分析推测了其光催化机理,采用3％(质量分数)溴水对使用后的AgBr/CuO进行了再生处理.结果表明,在可见光照射下,0.1gAgBr/CuO光催化剂30 min对甲基橙溶液(初始浓度为15 mg/L)的降解率高达92％,远高于同等条件下的AgBr.AgBr/CuO光催化活性提高的原因是AgBr与CuO的复合一方面使催化剂的禁带宽度变宽,提高了光生电子与光生空穴的氧化还原能力;另一方面,在两者之间形成了p-n型异质结结构,有利于光生电子的转移及光生电子与空穴的分离.采用绿色环保的溴水再生法可显著恢复催化剂的光催化活性.     

聚胸腺嘧啶单链DNA-CuNCs荧光增强法用于汞离子的高灵敏检测

基于Hg~(2+)与DNA中胸腺嘧啶(T)结合的高度特异性和DNA铜纳米簇的荧光增强性质,构建了一种简便、灵敏检测汞离子的新方法.当Hg~(2+)存在时,聚T单链DNA(P1)通过T-Hg~(2+)-T特异性结合形成双链DNA,Cu~(2+)经抗坏血酸钠还原后生成的中间体Cu+与双链DNA螺旋结构间的氢键部分有强的结合力,促使Cu0附着聚集在双链DNA上形成铜纳米簇,导致体系荧光增强,从而实现对汞离子的高灵敏检测.体系荧光强度与Hg~(2+)浓度的对数值成正比,对Hg~(2+)检测的线性范围为1.0 nmol/L~10μmol/L,检出限达0.4 nmol/L,对湖水样品中Hg~(2+)检测的回收率达到97.2%~106.6%.与传统方法相比,该方法具有无需标记、检出限低及选择性好等优点,可用于环境水体中汞离子的测定.