Affiliation: | 1. College of chemistry, Zhengzhou University, 450001 Zhengzhou, China;2. College of chemistry, Zhengzhou University, 450001 Zhengzhou, China These authors contributed equally to this work.;3. College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Northwest University, 710127 Xi'an, China;4. College of chemistry, Zhengzhou University, 450001 Zhengzhou, China College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, 454000 Jiaozuo, China |
Abstract: | Chiral Au nanoclusters have promising application prospects in chiral sensing, asymmetric catalysis, and chiroptics. However, enantiopure superatomic homogold clusters with crystallographic structures emitting bright circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) remain challenging. In this study, we designed chiral N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs), and for the first time enantioselectively synthesized a pair of monovalent cationic superatomic Au13 clusters. This new enantiomeric pair of clusters has a quasi-C2 symmetric core and exhibited CPL with an unprecedent solution-state quantum yield (QY) of 61 % among those of the atomically precise Au nanoclusters. DFT calculations provided insights into the circular dichroism behavior, and revealed the origin of CPL from superatomic Au clusters. This work opens a new avenue for developing novel homochiral nanoclusters using chiral NHC ligands and provides fundamental understanding of the origin of the chiroptics of metal clusters. |