原子数精确的金属纳米团簇在电催化领域的应用研究进展

金属纳米团簇(MNCs)是由几个到数百个金属原子组成,其尺寸一般小于2nm.金属纳米团簇在许多催化反应中表现出高的催化活性和选择性,这与金属纳米团簇具有高的比表面积、较多暴露的活性原子,以及与金属纳米粒子(MNPs)不同的电子结构有关.金属纳米团簇确定的组成和结构使其成为一种新型模型催化剂,对纳米团簇的催化性能研究有利...     

金属硫化物基异质结光催化剂:原理、影响、应用和原位表征（英文）

金属硫化物的窄带隙使其具有吸收可见光和红外光的优势,因此可以用于开发高效的光催化剂.同时,金属硫化物具有出色的电荷分离、较强的光还原能力和低氧化还原能垒.然而,单一金属硫化物通常具有光吸收强度不高和电子-空穴快速复合的问题.在仅考虑光吸收范围时,应选择带隙较窄的光催化剂,但其氧化还原能力较低.此外,金属硫化物易发生光腐蚀.近年来,研究发现,在两种及以上光催化剂间构建异质结可以抑制单一催化剂载流子的复合,促使电子与空穴的分离;同时,异质结光催化剂也被证实可以提高光吸收和增加反应活性位点,是解决金属硫化物自身不足的重要措施.本文总结了金属硫化物用于光催化反应的优势和缺陷,讨论了构建异质结对单一金属硫化物的影响.不同的合成方法对于异质结光催化剂的形貌结构及性能具有重要影响,列举了一些金属硫化物异质结合成方法实例,例如水热合成法、离子交换法、静电纺丝法和原位光化学沉积法等.异质结光催化剂的种类可以根据电子转移机理分为肖特基结、type Ⅱ型、Z型和S型异质结等.随后,概述了金属硫化物异质结在环境和能源领域的应用,比较了不同类型金属硫化物异质结的光催化活性.充分利用光生电子和空穴分别驱动氧化和还...     

SiC/Pt/CdS纳米棒Z型异质结的制备及其高效光催化产氢性能（英文）

本文采用简单的化学还原辅助水热法制备了一种新型Si C/Pt/Cd SZ型异质结纳米棒,并将Pt纳米粒子锚定在Si C纳米棒与Cd S纳米粒子的界面间,诱导电子-空穴对沿着Z型迁移路径进行转移。进行一系列的表征来分析该催化体系的结构,形貌和性能。X射线衍射(XRD)和X射线光电子能谱(XPS)结果表明,成功合成了具有较好晶体结构的光催化剂。通过透射电子显微镜证明,Pt纳米颗粒生长在Si C纳米棒和Cd S纳米颗粒的界面间。UV-Vis漫反射光谱显示,所制备的Z-型异质结样品具有比原始Cd S材料更宽的光吸收范围。光致发光光谱和瞬态光电流响应进一步证明具有最佳摩尔比的Si C/Pt/Cd S纳米棒样品具有最高的电子-空穴对分离效率。通过控制Si C和Cd S的摩尔比,可以有效地调节Si C/Pt纳米棒表面Cd S的负载量,从而使得Si C/Pt/Cd S纳米棒光催化剂达到最佳性能。当Si C:Cd S=5:1 (摩尔比)时可以达到最佳产氢性能,其最大析氢速率达到122.3μmol·h~(-1)。此外,从扫描电子显微镜、XRD和XPS分析可以看出,经过三次循环测试后,Si C/Pt/Cd S光催化剂的形貌和晶体结构均基本保持不变,表明Si C/Pt/Cd S纳米复合材料在可见光下产氢时具有稳定的结构。通过选择性光沉积技术在光反应中同时进行Au纳米粒子的光还原沉积和Mn3O4纳米粒子光氧化沉积以证明电子-空穴对的Z-型转移机制。实验结果表明,Cd S导带上的电子主要参与光催化过程中的还原反应,Si C价带上的空穴更容易发生氧化反应,其中,Si C的导带上的电子将与Cd S价带上的空穴复合形成Z型传输路径。因此,提出了在光催化产氢过程中Si C/Pt/Cd S纳米棒催化体系可能的Z-型电荷迁移路径来解释产氢活性的提高。该研究为基于Si C纳米棒的Z-型光催化体系的合成提供了新的策略。基于以上分析,Si C/Pt/Cd S纳米复合材料具有高效、廉价、易于制备、结构稳定等优势,具有突出的商业应用前景。     

超声水热法制备高可见光催化活性的BiOCl-Bi12O17Cl2纳米复合材料去除染料和药物废水（英文）

光催化作为一种环境友好型、低能耗的技术,在环境净化等领域倍受关注.传统光催化剂,如TiO2,ZnO,V2O5和WO3等具有较高的光敏性,其价格低廉,自然无毒,常用于光电反应的应用当中.然而,这些催化剂具有较宽的禁带宽度,只能在紫外光下响应.为此,设计一种较窄带隙的高可见光活性的光催化剂具有一定的意义.近年来,氯氧化铋光催化剂受到了越来越多的关注,其在紫外光下具有非常优异的光催化性能.并且,研究者们已成功合成出非化学计量比的氯氧化铋,如Bi3O4Cl(2.60 eV),Bi12O17Cl2(2.10 eV),Bi12O15Cl6(2.86 eV)和Bi24O31Cl10(2.70 eV)等光催化剂.研究表明,较低的Cl/O比可能会减小催化剂的带隙宽度,并提高其光催化性能;其中Bi12O17Cl2的Cl/O比最小,是最有潜力的氯氧化铋光催化剂.然而,Bi12O17Cl2具有较高的光生电子空穴复合率,会极大的减弱其光催化活性.因此,将Bi12O17Cl2与具有高稳定性,结构相似且空穴复合率低的Bi OCl相结合,将会极大提高在可见光下Bi12O17Cl2的光催化活性.本文采用了超声水热法成功制备了具有高可见光催化活性的Bi OCl-Bi12O17Cl2纳米复合材料,用于去除染料和药物废水.扫描电子显微镜和比表面积分析仪的结果表明,纳米复合材料具有良好的分散性,结构为花瓣形状,其平均厚度为20至50 nm,且具有较高的比表面积.紫外-可见漫反射和光致发光光谱分析表明,纳米复合材料具有良好的可见光吸收性能,并且光生电子空穴复合率远低于Bi12O17Cl2.其在可见光下降解罗丹明B(/环丙沙星)的动力学常数分别约为Bi12O17Cl2,BiOCl和P25的8.14(/4.94),64.66(/11.91)和42.63(/36.07)倍.合适的形态,结构和光电性能是此纳米复合光催化剂具有优异光催化性能的原因.此外,该催化剂还显示出较宽的pH适用范围和优异的可重复利用性,有利于实际利用.机理研究表明,降解罗丹明B的主要活性物质是光生空穴和超氧自由基.总之,本文开发了一种绿色、稳定、高效的可见光光催化剂,对BiOCl基的光催化剂的研究作出了一定的贡献.     

光降解刚果红的S型硫掺杂g-C3N4/TiO2异质结光催化剂

含有机物工业废水的处理仍然是人类实现可持续发展的重大挑战.而光催化作为一种先进的氧化环保技术,以其反应条件温和、能耗相对较低的优点在有机废水处理中受到越来越多的关注.近年来,人们设计和合成了许多不同结构和形状的光催化剂.特别是金属氧化物半导体以其适宜的能带结构、稳定的物化性质、无毒性等特点已成为光催化降解有机废水的研究热点.此外,一维纳米结构(1D)已被证实有利于光催化降解过程,其优势在于比表面积大,离子的迁移路径短,以及独特的一维电子转移轨道.尤其是TiO2纳米纤维由于其亲水性、特殊的形貌和合适的能带位置,在污染物水溶液的处理中表现出优异的光催化性能.然而,TiO2(～3.2 eV)的宽禁带、光生载流子的易复合等缺陷导致其光利用率较低,限制了其实际应用.因此,人们提出了许多提高光催化活性的策略,如掺杂金属或非金属元素、负载贵金属、构建异质结等.构建梯形(S型)异质结已被证实是提高复合材料光催化活性的一种有前途的策略.S型异质结不仅能有效地分离光生电子和空穴,而且还原能力低的半导体CB上的电子和氧化能力低的半导体VB上的空穴复合,而氧化还原能力较强的空穴和电子分别被保留.因此,这一电子转移过程赋予了复合物最大的氧化还原能力.同时,在g-C3N4中引入硫元素可以拓宽其光吸收范围,从而产生更多的光生载流子.此外,额外的表面杂质将有助于e?-h+对的分离,其光催化活性明显高于单纯的g-C3N4.综合一维纳米结构、硫掺杂和S型异质结的优势,本文采用静电纺丝和煅烧法制备了一系列硫掺杂的g-C3N4(SCN)/TiO2 S型光催化剂.制备的SCN/TiO2复合材料在光催化降解刚果红(CR)水溶液中表现出比纯TiO2和SCN更优越的光催化性能.光催化活性的显著增强是由于一维分布的纳米结构和S型异质结.此外,XPS分析和DFT计算表明,电子从SCN通过SCN/TiO2复合材料的界面转移到TiO2.在模拟太阳光照射下,界面内建电场、带边缘弯曲和库仑相互作用协同促进了复合物相对无用的电子和空穴的复合.因此,剩余的电子和空穴具有较高的还原性和氧化性,使复合材料具有最高的氧化还原能力.这些结果通过自由基捕获实验、ESR实验和XPS原位分析得到了充分的验证,说明光催化剂中的电子迁移遵循S型异质结机理.本文不仅可以丰富了新型S型异质结光催化剂的设计和制备方面的知识,并为未来解决环境污染问题提供一个有前景的策略.     

CdS纳米片与纳米线负载Au25纳米团簇光催化苯甲醇无氧脱氢制苯甲醛反应的研究(英文)

光催化苯甲醇直接脱氢制苯甲醛是一种利用太阳能合成精细化学品的同时生成氢气的节能途径。负载型半导体CdS基催化剂是该反应的一类典型的光催化剂。文献报道CdS的形貌对光催化水分解的性能有明显的影响,但其在光催化苯甲醇无氧脱氢制苯甲醛反应中的形貌效应研究报道极少。本工作合成了纳米片状(NS)和纳米线状(NW)两种不同形貌的CdS,发现CdS-NS表现出比CdS-NW更高的转化苯甲醇的光催化活性,但这两种催化剂对苯甲醛的选择性非常低。通过在CdS-NS和CdS-NW上负载Au₂₅纳米团簇,光催化苯甲醇无氧脱氢制苯甲醛反应的活性和选择性明显提高,并显著减弱了CdS载体的形貌对催化反应性能的影响。以上结果为设计合成精细化学品的高效光催化剂提供了参考。     

可见光响应的碳修饰纳米棒状p型CaFe2O4半导体光催化降解有机污染物

制备了C/CaFe2O4纳米棒复合材料,并考察了其光催化性能,同时深入研究了C修饰对CaFe2O4活性的影响.研究发现,复合材料的光催化降解活性与C和CaFe2O4的质量比密切相关.其最佳的碳含量为58 wt%,所得复合光催化剂对亚甲基蓝(MB)的降解速率常数达到0.0058 min-1,是铁酸钙的4.8倍.进一步研究表明,C修饰在CaFe2O4表面显著提高了样品对亚甲基蓝染料的吸附性能.吸附等温线结果发现,MB以单分子层形式吸附于CaFe2O4表面.总体而言,C覆盖在CaFe2O4表面可以使光生电子和空穴更有效的分离和传输,可以显著提高催化剂对MB的吸附性能,还可以增强样品对光的吸收能力,因而催化剂光催化降解MB性能增加.表征结果表明,复合光催化剂表面含有大量羧基和羟基基团,导致光催化剂表面带负电荷,从而有利于阳离子的MB的静电吸附.为了进一步验证该吸附机理,我们选择了另外两种染料分子,阳离子的罗丹明B和阴离子的甲基橙.结果显示,该光催化剂对罗丹明B同样具有较强的吸附能力和较好的光催化降解活性,但对甲基橙几乎没有吸附和光催化性能.这充分说明亚甲基蓝染料通过静电相互作用的形式吸附于催化剂表面,较好的吸附性能进一步促进了光催化剂的降解活性.为了讨论光催化机理,向反应体系中加入不同的捕获剂来研究光催化反应过程中产生的活性物种.研究显示,羟基自由基在光催化降解亚甲基蓝的反应中几乎没有作用,光生空穴发挥了次要作用,而超氧自由基在整个反应中发挥了主导作用.因此,光催化降解的机理如下:CaFe2O4在可见光激发下产生光生电子和空穴,电子快速转移到C材料的表面并与空气中的氧气反应生成超氧自由基,后者再与吸附在光催化剂表面的染料分子反应产生低毒或无毒的降解产物.此外,CaFe2O4价带上产生的空穴也可以直接将染料分子氧化成小分子产物.     

Potential(V vs Ag/AgCl,pH=7)

含有机物工业废水的处理仍然是人类实现可持续发展的重大挑战.而光催化作为一种先进的氧化环保技术,以其反应条件温和、能耗相对较低的优点在有机废水处理中受到越来越多的关注.近年来,人们设计和合成了许多不同结构和形状的光催化剂.特别是金属氧化物半导体以其适宜的能带结构、稳定的物化性质、无毒性等特点已成为光催化降解有机废水的研究热点.此外,一维纳米结构(1D)已被证实有利于光催化降解过程,其优势在于比表面积大,离子的迁移路径短,以及独特的一维电子转移轨道.尤其是TiO2纳米纤维由于其亲水性、特殊的形貌和合适的能带位置,在污染物水溶液的处理中表现出优异的光催化性能.然而, TiO2(～3.2 eV)的宽禁带、光生载流子的易复合等缺陷导致其光利用率较低,限制了其实际应用.因此,人们提出了许多提高光催化活性的策略,如掺杂金属或非金属元素、负载贵金属、构建异质结等.构建梯形(S型)异质结已被证实是提高复合材料光催化活性的一种有前途的策略.S型异质结不仅能有效地分离光生电子和空穴,而且还原能力低的半导体CB上的电子和氧化能力低的半导体VB上的空穴复合,而氧化还原能力较强的空穴和电子分别被保留.因此,这一电子转移过程赋予了复合物最大的氧化还原能力.同时,在g-C3N4中引入硫元素可以拓宽其光吸收范围,从而产生更多的光生载流子.此外,额外的表面杂质将有助于e--h+对的分离,其光催化活性明显高于单纯的g-C3N4.综合一维纳米结构、硫掺杂和S型异质结的优势,本文采用静电纺丝和煅烧法制备了一系列硫掺杂的g-C3N4(SCN)/TiO2S型光催化剂.制备的SCN/TiO2复合材料在光催化降解刚果红(CR)水溶液中表现出比纯TiO2和SCN更优越的光催化性能.光催化活性的显著增强是由于一维分布的纳米结构和S型异质结.此外, XPS分析和DFT计算表明,电子从SCN通过SCN/TiO2复合材料的界面转移到TiO2.在模拟太阳光照射下,界面内建电场、带边缘弯曲和库仑相互作用协同促进了复合物相对无用的电子和空穴的复合.因此,剩余的电子和空穴具有较高的还原性和氧化性,使复合材料具有最高的氧化还原能力.这些结果通过自由基捕获实验、ESR实验和XPS原位分析得到了充分的验证,说明光催化剂中的电子迁移遵循S型异质结机理.本文不仅可以丰富了新型S型异质结光催化剂的设计和制备方面的知识,并为未来解决环境污染问题提供一个有前景的策略.     

金属纳米团簇的合成及其光致发光性质的调控

金属纳米团簇是一种既具有出色光物理性质,又具有良好生物相容性的零维材料.利用配体对团簇的热力学稳定产物的选择性和还原剂动力学调控可以合成出结构多样的金属纳米团簇,在光学材料、生物医学和催化材料等领域展示出颇具潜力的应用前景.但金属纳米团簇的稳定性差、发光弱等缺点限制了其实际应用,因此通过聚集诱导发光效应和超分子自组装协同调控金属纳米团簇的稳定性及光学性质,可以构筑出结构与发光可控的金属纳米团簇组装体,有效促进金属纳米团簇的实际可用性.本文简要介绍了不同配体保护的金属纳米团簇的合成,阐述了金属纳米团簇的光致发光性质,总结了聚集诱导发光效应对团簇超分子组装体光致发光性质的影响规律,并分析提出了当前研究仍存在的问题及对未来探究的展望.     

可见光响应的碳修饰纳米棒状p型CaFe_2O_4半导体光催化降解有机污染物（英文）

制备了C/CaFe_2O_4纳米棒复合材料,并考察了其光催化性能,同时深入研究了C修饰对CaFe_2O_4活性的影响.研究发现,复合材料的光催化降解活性与C和CaFe_2O_4的质量比密切相关.其最佳的碳含量为58 wt%,所得复合光催化剂对亚甲基蓝(MB)的降解速率常数达到0.0058 min~(-1),是铁酸钙的4.8倍.进一步研究表明,C修饰在CaFe_2O_4表面显著提高了样品对亚甲基蓝染料的吸附性能.吸附等温线结果发现,MB以单分子层形式吸附于CaFe_2O_4表面.总体而言,C覆盖在CaFe_2O_4表面可以使光生电子和空穴更有效的分离和传输,可以显著提高催化剂对MB的吸附性能,还可以增强样品对光的吸收能力,因而催化剂光催化降解MB性能增加.表征结果表明,复合光催化剂表面含有大量羧基和羟基基团,导致光催化剂表面带负电荷,从而有利于阳离子的MB的静电吸附.为了进一步验证该吸附机理,我们选择了另外两种染料分子,阳离子的罗丹明B和阴离子的甲基橙.结果显示,该光催化剂对罗丹明B同样具有较强的吸附能力和较好的光催化降解活性,但对甲基橙几乎没有吸附和光催化性能.这充分说明亚甲基蓝染料通过静电相互作用的形式吸附于催化剂表面,较好的吸附性能进一步促进了光催化剂的降解活性.为了讨论光催化机理,向反应体系中加入不同的捕获剂来研究光催化反应过程中产生的活性物种.研究显示,羟基自由基在光催化降解亚甲基蓝的反应中几乎没有作用,光生空穴发挥了次要作用,而超氧自由基在整个反应中发挥了主导作用.因此,光催化降解的机理如下:CaFe_2O_4在可见光激发下产生光生电子和空穴,电子快速转移到C材料的表面并与空气中的氧气反应生成超氧自由基,后者再与吸附在光催化剂表面的染料分子反应产生低毒或无毒的降解产物.此外,CaFe_2O_4价带上产生的空穴也可以直接将染料分子氧化成小分子产物     

金属纳米簇在CO2光催化还原中的研究进展

化石燃料的大量燃烧不仅造成能源危机，而且排放的二氧化碳（CO2）会使气候变暖。以清洁、储量丰富的太阳光作为能量来源，将CO2光催化还原为高附加值的化学产品是缓解当前环境问题和能源问题的主要方法之一。然而，CO2在常温常压下非常的稳定，因此需要设计并构筑高效光催化剂来捕捉和转化CO2，以达到高效光催化CO2还原的目的。在众多研究的光催化剂中，金属纳米簇因其具有独特的结构特点、优异的物理和化学性质，所以在光催化CO2还原领域得到了广泛的应用。基于此，我们首先对金属纳米簇进行了分类，将其分为贵金属纳米簇和非贵金属纳米簇；然后分别对贵金属和非贵金属纳米簇在光催化CO2还原中的研究进展进行了归纳与总结。本文通过及时全面概述近几年该领域的研究进展，从而为未来研究方向提供新思路。     

Protection of Ag Clusters by Metal-Oxo Modules

Monodisperse and atomically precise Ag nanoclusters have attracted considerable recent research interest. A conventional silver cluster usually consists of a silver metallic kernel and an organic peripheral ligand shell. Nevertheless, the present inevitable problem is the unsatisfied stability of such nanoclusters. In this concept, we will give an introduction to Ag clusters protected by metal-oxo modules, which exhibit enhanced stability and unique properties. Accordingly, three different types of clusters are summarized: (1) Ag clusters protected by mononuclear oxometallates; (2) Ag clusters protected by block-like metal-oxo clusters; (3) Ag clusters protected by hollow-like metal-oxo clusters. The aim of this concept is to offer possible general guidance and insight into future rational design of more metal-oxo clusters protected silver clusters or even other coinage metal nanoclusters.     

Surface modification of TiO2 with metal oxide nanoclusters: a route to composite photocatalytic materials

Density functional theory simulations show that modifying rutile TiO(2) with metal oxide nanoclusters produces composite materials with potential visible light photocatalytic activity.     

Interplay between Cation–π and Coinage‐Metal–Oxygen Interactions: An Ab Initio Study and Cambridge Structural Database Survey

The interplay between cation–π and coinage‐metal–oxygen interactions are investigated in the ternary systems N???PhCCM???O (N=Li⁺, Na⁺, Mg²⁺; M=Ag, Au; O=water, methanol, ethanol). A synergetic effect is observed when cation–π and coinage‐metal–oxygen interactions coexist in the same complex. The cation–π interaction in most triads has a greater enhancing effect on the coinage‐metal–oxygen interaction. This effect is analyzed in terms of the binding distance, interaction energy, and electrostatic potential in the complexes. Furthermore, the formation, strength, and nature of both the cation–π and coinage‐metal–oxygen interactions can be understood in terms of electrostatic potential and energy decomposition. In addition, experimental evidence for the coexistence of both interactions is obtained from the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD).     

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.     

An infrared study on the chemisorption of tertiary phosphines on coinage and platinum group metal surfaces

The chemisorption of dimethylphenyl-, methyldiphenyl- and triphenylphosphine on evaporated gold, silver, copper, rhodium, iridium, palladium, platinum and nickel surfaces has been studied by means of infrared reflection–absorption spectroscopy (IRAS). Multilayers of physisorbed phosphine are formed on the surfaces of all metals studied except nickel after deposition from dilute toluene solution. The deposition rate varies for different metal surfaces and it is sometimes quite slow. The standard immersion time was 20 h in this study to secure that an equilibrium between the surface and the solution is reached. Several minutes of ultrasonic treatment are required to get rid of the physisorbed phosphine, leaving a very thin layer of chemisorbed phosphine on the metal surface. Most of the absorption bands in IRAS spectra of these thin layers show significant shifts, which are especially large for dimethylphenylphosphine. It is evident that the electron distribution in the entire phosphine molecules is changed and that the chemisorption to the coinage and platinum group metal surfaces is strong. Infrared spectra of coordination compounds of gold(I), silver(I) and copper(I) with dimethylphenyl-, methyldiphenyl- and triphenylphosphine and of the corresponding phosphine oxides have served as reference material for the chemisorbed phosphines. The spectra of the coordination compounds show similar shifts and intensity changes as the IRAS spectra of tertiary phosphines chemisorbed on the coinage and platinum group metals. This suggests that the studied phosphines are as strongly bound to the coinage and platinum group metal surfaces as to the monovalent coinage metal ions known to form very stable complexes with tertiary phosphines.     

Synthesis and photocatalytic activity of ZnO-Au25 nanocomposites

ZnO-Au₂₅ nanocomposites were synthesized by doping Au₂₅ nanoclusters into the porous ZnO nanospheres. It was notable that the ultrasmall Au₂₅ nanoclusters possessed uniform sizes and fine dispersibility on the porous ZnO supports. A considerable correlation between the loading of Au₂₅ nanoclusters and the photocatalytic activity was found. Compared with the pure ZnO nanospheres, the ZnO-Au₂₅ nanocomposites exhibited more efficient photocatalytic activity in terms of degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) in an aqueous solution. In addition, the possible photocatalytic mechanisms are discussed in this work. This strategy may be helpful for preparing other novel hybrid nanocomposites with well-defined structures and superior performances.     

Intertrimer and intratrimer metallophilic and excimeric bonding in the ground and phosphorescent States of trinuclear coinage metal pyrazolates: a computational study

The interactions present in cyclic trinuclear coinage metal pyrazolates were studied computationally. Cuprophilic interaction was found to bind the singlet ground state of the dimer of trimers [[Cu(Pz)](3)](2), overcoming electrostatic repulsion. The large variation in intertrimer separations found in the literature for coinage metal pyrazolates is consistent with the relatively weak metallophilic interaction. The emissive triplet excited-state geometry of [[M(Pz)](3)](2) is predicted by density functional calculations to show major geometric distortion caused by Jahn-Teller instability and excimeric M-M bonding. Large calculated Stokes' shifts, which are also observed for experimental models, are consistent with significant excited-state distortions for these materials. The major finding derived from the present study is that the intertrimer M...M contraction in the emissive T(1) state is much more than the intratrimer contraction in all [[M(Pz)](3)](2) models, giving rise to a lower T(1) --> S(0) phosphorescence energy in these models than in analogous monomer-of-trimer models. The observations made here point to a great potential for rationally tuning the emission properties of trinuclear coinage metal complexes through choice of the metal and ligands.     

Biomolecules as promising ligands in the synthesis of metal nanoclusters: Sensing,bioimaging and catalytic applications

The use of metal nanoclusters as sensing probes has recently attracted considerable interest from researchers. In particular, metallic nanoclusters (e.g., Au, Ag, Cu, Pt) have been noticed a wide range of applications in the field of fluorescence sensing and bioimaging. The stabilization of metal nanoclusters with organic molecules, proteins, and amino acids enhances their optical properties and analytical applications. In this review, synthetic routes for the fabrication of metal nanoclusters are summarized. This review also describes the metal nanoclusters properties including aggregation-induced emission, optical absorption, non-linear optical, and chiral properties. We discussed the analytical applications of metal nanoclusters for sensing of wide variety of analytes including drugs, biomolecules, biomarkers. Further, the catalytic applications of metal nanoclusters are also briefly summarized. Finally, we summarize the challenges and future perspectives of metal nanoclusters in analytical chemistry.     

Noble‐Metal‐Free Materials for Surface‐Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Detection

Surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is an attractive tool for the sensing of molecules in the fields of chemical and biochemical analysis as it enables the sensitive detection of molecular fingerprint information even at the single‐molecule level. In addition to traditional coinage metals in SERS analysis, recent research on noble‐metal‐free materials has also yielded highly sensitive SERS activity. This Minireview presents the recent development of noble‐metal‐free materials as SERS substrates and their potential applications, especially semiconductors and emerging graphene‐based nanostructures. Rather than providing an exhaustive review of this field, possible contributions from semiconductor substrates, characteristics of graphene enhanced Raman scattering, as well as effect factors such as surface plasmon resonance, structure and defects of the nanostructures that are considered essential for SERS activity are emphasized. The intention is to illustrate, through these examples, that the promise of noble‐metal‐free materials for enhancing detection sensitivity can further fuel the development of SERS‐related applications.