Nanocluster with one missing core atom: a three-dimensional hybrid superlattice built from dual-sized supertetrahedral clusters

In addition to having size-dependent properties, nanoclusters also behave like large pseudo-atoms and serve as building blocks for the construction of superlattices with properties that differ from either individual clusters or the bulk. While colloidal nanoparticles usually self-assemble into close-packed lattices, supertetrahedral clusters that are regular fragments of the zinc blende-type lattice can form covalent lattices with large pore size and high pore volume. Unfortunately, the size of the known supertetrahedral cluster is still small, and only a few types are currently known. In addition, their superlattices invariably consist of clusters of identical size. Here we report an open framework sulfide (denoted as UCR-15) that extends the cluster size from 20 metal ions in a T4 supertetrahedron to 34 metal ions in a novel T5 supertetrahedron with a missing core atom, [In34S54]6-. T5 clusters are joined by smaller T3 clusters (i.e., [In10S18]6-) to form an extended superlattice. UCR-15 is the first example of a covalent open framework built from supertetrahedral clusters of different sizes, thus revealing new possibilities in the construction of crystalline nanoporous semiconducting superlattices. It is proposed here that the formation of the dual-sized T3 and T5 hybrid framework is related to the host-guest charge density matching.     

A large indium sulfide supertetrahedral cluster built from integration of ZnS-like tetrahedral shell with NaCl-like octahedral core

An entirely new type of chalcogenide cluster and a new structural mechanism for the formation of large semiconducting tetrahedral clusters have been revealed as a result of crystallization of a templated indium sulfide consisting of an unprecedented cluster, In(38)S(65), which is the largest supertetrahedral cluster based on trivalent metal ions. At the core of this cluster is In(10)S(13), which can be considered as a fragment of the NaCl-type lattice. The In(10)S(13) cluster is coupled to four In(4)S(10) supertetrahedral T2 clusters and four In(3)S(3) hexagonal rings to give In(38)S(65), which is also the largest inorganic chalcogenide supertetrahedral cluster, superseding a supertetrahedral T5 cluster with only 35 metal sites.     

Nonaqueous synthesis and selective crystallization of gallium sulfide clusters into three-dimensional photoluminescent superlattices

A low-temperature, nonaqueous synthesis approach is described that produces a series of gallium sulfide and polysulfide three-dimensional superlattices from binary Ga-S and ternary Zn-Ga-S supertetrahedral clusters. The diversity of superlattices is achieved by modifying the cluster size, the cluster composition, and the inter-cluster linkage mode. Both pure T3 (Ga10S186-) (denoted as UCR-7GaS) and pure T4 (Zn4Ga16S3310-) (denoted as UCR-5ZnGaS) superlattices with ring sizes of 18 and 24 tetrahedral atoms have been made. Of particular interest is the synthesis of the T3-T4 hybrid superlattice (denoted as UCR-19) with an odd ring size of 21 tetrahedral atoms. Another unprecedented feature is the occurrence of the -S-S-S- polysulfide linkage between supertetrahedral clusters in UCR-18. The fluorescent emission wavelength of these materials ranges from 440 to 500 nm and fills the previously observed gap between open-framework oxides and indium sulfides. A comparative study shows that open-framework gallium sulfides are more thermally stable than indium sulfides. They can also undergo ion exchange. It is suggested here that supertetrahedral clusters of different types coexist in a solution and can be selectively crystallized out with a proper choice of structure-directing agents.     

Superbase route to supertetrahedral chalcogenide clusters

Supertetrahedral Tn clusters are exact fragments of a cubic ZnS type lattice. Thus far, Tn clusters up to T4 with 20 metal sites can be synthesized in a discrete molecular form. Yet, synthesis of larger discrete supertetrahedral clusters still remains a great challenge, likely due to the rapidly increasing negative charge on the cluster as the size goes up. By using organic superbases (DBN and DBU) to help stabilize the negative charge, a family of discrete supertetrahedral chalcogenide clusters with sizes spanning from T3 (10 metal sites) to T5 (35 metal sites) have been made. The T5 cluster represents the largest molecular supertetrahedral Tn cluster known to date.     

Self-assembly of novel dye molecules and [Cd8(SPh)12]4+ cubic clusters into three-dimensional photoluminescent superlattice

The use of organic multidentate ligands to organize inorganic species is an effective method to prepare porous solids with tunable pore sizes. However, thus far, inorganic building units are generally limited to individual metal ions (e.g., Zn2+) or their oxide clusters (e.g., Zn4O6+). To expand applications of porous materials to electronic, electrooptic, or optical areas, the organization of semiconducting chalcogenide nanoclusters is desirable. Here we report the organization of cubic [Cd8(SPh)12]4+ clusters by in-situ-generated tetradentate 1,2,4,5-tetra(4-pyridyl)benzene molecules. The structure consists of three-dimensional inorganic-organic open framework with large unidimensional channels. The combination of dye molecules and inorganic cluster units in the same material creates a synergetic effect that enhances the emission of the inorganic cluster at 580 nm. Such an emission can be excited by a broad spectral range down to the UV, which is believed to result from the absorption of dye molecules and the subsequent energy transfer. The inorganic double four-ring cluster, [Cd8(SPh)12]4+, is formed from conversion of supertetrahedral clusters, while the novel tetradentate dye molecule is formed by oxidative coupling of two diamines.     

Two-dimensional indium sulfide framework constructed from pentasupertetrahedral p1 and supertetrahedral t2 clusters

A new open-framework indium sulfide ([In12S24H2]10-) constructed from pentasupertetrahedral sulfide clusters ([In8S17H],9- P1) and supertetrahedral sulfide clusters ([In4S10H],7-) T2) has been prepared through hydrothermal synthesis. Unlike previously reported P1 clusters that require divalent metal cations, the P1 cluster reported here consists of only trivalent ions (In3+) and is the only known example of tetrahedral clusters with a core sulfur site bonded to four trivalent ions. Each P1 cluster is joined to three T2 clusters (vice versa) to form an infinite two-dimensional sheet stacked along the crystallographic c-axis. In contrast with known three-dimensional open-framework indium sulfides in which locations of extraframework amines are rarely known due to disorder, structure-directing amine molecules are much less disordered as a result of host-guest N-H...S hydrogen bonding. The UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectrum shows that this material is a wide band gap semiconductor.     

Tetrahedral chalcogenide clusters and open frameworks

By integrating porosity with electrical or optical properties, microporous chalcogenides may have unique applications. Here we review recent advances and discuss concepts in the synthesis and crystal structure of tetrahedral clusters and their frameworks. These chalcogenides can be viewed as trivalent metal chalcogenides doped with tetra-, di-, or monovalent metal cations. Low-valent cations help to increase the cluster size, while high-valent cations have the opposite effect.     

超四面体硫簇结构调控与电化学发光研究进展

电化学发光(ECL)因其独特的性能特点在生物分析等领域展现出广阔的应用前景,高效ECL试剂的开发则为性能优异的传感器件的发展和临床应用提供了重要工具. 开放骨架超四面体硫簇由于同时具有分子筛的多孔结构和半导体的优异光电性能,在ECL分析中受到了越来越多的关注. 超四面体硫簇的结构组成可以实现原子级别的精确调控,并且其本身还可以作为结构单元来构筑多孔结构半导体材料. 这些特点使通过原子级别的结构组成调节来调控超四面体硫簇的性能成为可能,为发展性能优异的电化学发光材料,拓展其在生化传感、免疫分析和生物成像等方面的应用提供有效工具. 本综述总结了超四面体硫簇的合成、缺陷掺杂、功能调控及ECL生化分析等方面的研究进展,为推进高效ECL新材料的发展和新应用的拓展提供了借鉴.     

Stable clusters in the condensed state and some possibilities for gas phase clusters

The classical naked cluster ions of the post-transition elements that are stable in solid compounds and their lower charged analogues observed in mixed metal beams reflect the reduced number of good bonding orbitals. New cluster ions of indium that are hypoelectronic (fewer than 2n+2 skeletal bonding electrons) because of distortions or the bonding of heterometal atoms within the clusters are described. A large family of new, orbital-rich clusters of the group III and IV transition metals sheathed by halide are all centered by a wide variety of heteroatoms. Factors in their stability, possible analogous naked cluster targets, and some calculations are considered.     

Phase selection and site-selective distribution by tin and sulfur in supertetrahedral zinc gallium selenides

Doping is among the most important methods to tune the properties of semiconductors. For dense phase semiconductors, the distribution of dopant atoms in crystal lattices is often random. However, when the size of semiconductors becomes increasingly smaller and reaches the extreme situation as is the case in chalcogenide supertetrahedral clusters, different chemically distinct sites (e.g., corner, edge, face, and core) occur, which can dramatically affect the doping chemistry at different sites and also spatial assembly of such clusters into covalent superlattices. In this work, we use the Zn-Ga-Se supertetrahedral clusters and their frameworks as the model system to examine the doping chemistry of Sn(4+) and S(2-) in the Zn-Ga-Se clusters. A series of selenide clusters (undoped supertetrahedral T4-ZnGaSe, S-doped T4-ZnGaSeS, Sn-doped T4-ZnGaSnSe, and dual S- and Sn-doped T4-ZnGaSnSeS) have been prepared with various levels of Sn- and S-doping and with different superlattice structures (OCF-1, -5, -40, and -42). The complex compositional and structural features of these materials are dictated by the convoluted interplay of three key factors: (1) the overall charge density and size/shape matching between clusters/frameworks and protonated guest amines determine the framework topology and the doping levels of Sn(4+) and S(2-); (2) the site selectivity of Sn(4+) is dictated by the local charge balance surrounding anionic Se/S sites as required by the electrostatic valence sum rule; and (3) the site selectivity and doping levels of sulfur is dictated by the location and amount of Sn based on hard soft acid base (HSAB) principle. The cooperative effect of amine-templating and doping by Sn and/or S leads to a rich chemical system with tunable framework compositions, topologies, and electronic properties.     

Geometries and electronic properties of the tungsten-doped germanium clusters: WGen (n = 1-17)

Geometries associated with relative stabilities, energy gaps, and polarities of W-doped germanium clusters have been investigated systematically by using density functional theory. The threshold size for the endohedral coordination and the critical size of W-encapsulated Gen structures emerge as, respectively, n = 8 and n = 12, while the fullerene-like W@Ge(n) clusters appears at n = 14. The evaluated relative stabilities in term of the calculated fragmentation energies reveal that the fullerene-like W@Ge(14) and W@Ge(16) structures as well as the hexagonal prism WGe(12) have enhanced stabilities over their neighboring clusters. Furthermore, the calculated polarities of the W@Ge(n) reveal that the bicapped tetragonal antiprism WGe(10) is a polar molecule while the hexagonal prism WGe(12) is a nonpolar molecule. Moreover, the recorded natural populations show that the charges transfer from the germanium framework to the W atom. Additionally, the WGe(12) cluster with large highest occupied molecular orbital-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO-LUMO) gap, large fragmentation energy, and large binding energy is supposed to be suitable as a building block of assembly cluster material. It should be pointed out that the remarkable features of W@Ge(n) clusters above are distinctly different from those of transition metal (TM) doped Ge(n) (TM = Cu and Ni) clusters, indicating that the growth pattern of the TMGe(n) depends on the kind of doped TM impurity.     

Application of solid-state early-transition metal clusters as catalysts

Metal cluster compounds are expected to be catalysts for new reactions because of synergistic effect of the metal atoms. In solid-state halide clusters and sulfide clusters, metal cluster frameworks are linked in two- or three-dimensions to form a cluster network. Halogen- or sulfur-deficient metal sites in an octahedral metal cluster framework are retained intact and act as catalytically active sites even at high temperatures of 400–700?°C. This review reports recent advances in the development of coordinatively unsaturated metal atoms on solid-state clusters with an octahedral metal framework and their application to organic catalytic reactions.     

Crystal of semiconducting quantum dots built on covalently bonded t5 [in(28)cd(6)s(54)](-12): the largest supertetrahedral cluster in solid state

Periodic array of nanoparticles is essential for practical applications in optical devices. Periodic dot arrays often exhibit very interesting collective phenomenon. We report a periodic crystal of InCdS pseudo-T5 nanocluster, the largest supertetrahedral cluster found thus far in solid state. Each InCdS cluster behaves like a nanoparticle with the same size. Unlike the array of colloidal dots in which the dot-dot separation is large ( approximately 5 nm), the neighboring T5 clusters in [In28Cd6S54].[(CH3)4N]12[(HSCH2COOH)2]3.5 crystal form a natural point contact by sharing covalently bonded S atoms. Both experimental and theoretical studies show that this crystal is a semiconductor with a band gap of 3.0 eV.     

Density-functional study of structural and electronic properties of Si(n)C(n) (n=1-10) clusters

Density-functional theory with generalized gradient approximation for the exchange-correlation potential has been used to calculate the structural and electronic structure of Si(n)C(n) (n=1-10) clusters. The geometries are found to undergo a structural change from two dimensional to three dimensional when the cluster size n equals 4. Cagelike structures are favored as the cluster size increases. A distinct segregation between the silicon and carbon atoms is observed for these clusters. It is found that the C atoms favor to form five-membered rings as the cluster size n increases. However, the growth motif for Si atoms is not observed. The Si(n)C(n) clusters at n=2, 6, and 9 are found to possess relatively higher stability. On the basis of the lowest-energy geometries obtained, the size dependence of cluster properties such as binding energy, HOMO-LUMO gap, Mulliken charge, vibrational spectrum, and ionization potential has been computed and analyzed. The bonding characteristics of the clusters are discussed.     

Zn(H2O)4][Zn2Sn3Se9(MeNH2)]: a robust open framework chalcogenide with a large nonlinear optical response

[Zn(H2O)4][Zn2Sn3Se9(MeNH2)] has an open polar framework based on supertetrahedral clusters with a unique double connectivity mode and exhibits a strong second harmonic generation response, excellent acid stability and proton exchange capacity.     

Highly luminescent gold(I)-silver(I) and gold(I)-copper(I) chalcogenide clusters

The reactions of [AuClL] with Ag(2)O, where L represents the heterofunctional ligands PPh(2)py and PPh(2)CH(2)CH(2)py, give the trigoldoxonium complexes [O(AuL)(3)]BF(4). Treatment of these compounds with thio- or selenourea affords the triply bridging sulfide or selenide derivatives [E(AuL)(3)]BF(4) (E=S, Se). These trinuclear species react with Ag(OTf) or [Cu(NCMe)(4)]PF(6) to give different results, depending on the phosphine and the metal. The reactions of [E(AuPPh(2)py)(3)]BF(4) with silver or copper salts give [E(AuPPh(2)py)(3)M](2+) (E=O, S, Se; M=Ag, Cu) clusters that are highly luminescent. The silver complexes consist of tetrahedral Au(3)Ag clusters further bonded to another unit through aurophilic interactions, whereas in the copper species two coordination isomers with different metallophilic interactions were found. The first is analogous to the silver complexes and in the second, two [S(AuPPh(2)py)(3)](+) units bridge two copper atoms through one pyridine group in each unit. The reactions of [E(AuPPh(2)CH(2)CH(2)py)(3)]BF(4) with silver and copper salts give complexes with [E(AuPPh(2)CH(2)CH(2)py)(3)M](2+) stoichiometry (E=O, S, Se; M=Ag, Cu) with the metal bonded to the three nitrogen atoms in the absence of AuM interactions. The luminescence of these clusters has been studied by varying the chalcogenide, the heterofunctional ligand, and the metal.     

Gold-caged metal clusters with large HOMO-LUMO gap and high electron affinity

We report a series of isoelectronic gold-caged metal clusters, M@Au14 (M = Zr, Hf), and anion clusters, M@Au14- (M = Sc, Y), all having a calculated HOMO-LUMO gap larger than the well-known tetrahedral cluster Au20-the 3D metal cluster with a very large measured HOMO-LUMO gap (1.77 eV). The clusters M@Au14 (M = Sc, Y) also exhibit a calculated electron affinity (EA) and vertical detachment energy (VDE) not only higher than the "superhalogen" icosahedral Al13 cluster but also possibly even higher than a Cl atom which has the highest (measured) elemental EA or VDE (3.61 eV).     

A Discrete Ligand-Free T3 Supertetrahedral Cluster of Gallium Sulfide

Large discrete supertetrahedral clusters of metal chalcogenides are rare due to the difficulty of crystallizing solids in which the negative charge of the cluster is balanced by the positive charges of the countercations. Here, we describe a discrete ligand-free T3 supertetrahedral cluster, [Ga₁₀S₁₆(SH)₄]⁶⁻, which was successfully synthesized in the presence of the superbase 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU) using the neutral surfactant polyethyleneglycol (PEG)-400 as the reaction solvent. Protonated DBUH⁺ cations are incorporated into the crystal structure of the product, which can be formulated as [C₉H₁₇N₂]₆[Ga₁₀S₁₆(SH)₄]. This compound, which represents the first example of a discrete ligand-free T3 cluster of gallium sulfide, was fully characterized by single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance. The results presented here indicate that the use of surfactants as solvents offers potential for the preparation of new compounds containing supertetrahedral clusters.     

Structure and mobility of metal clusters in MOFs: Au, Pd, and AuPd clusters in MOF-74

Understanding the adsorption and mobility of metal-organic framework (MOF)-supported metal nanoclusters is critical to the development of these catalytic materials. We present the first theoretical investigation of Au-, Pd-, and AuPd-supported clusters in a MOF, namely MOF-74. We combine density functional theory (DFT) calculations with a genetic algorithm (GA) to reliably predict the structure of the adsorbed clusters. This approach allows comparison of hundreds of adsorbed configurations for each cluster. From the investigation of Au(8), Pd(8), and Au(4)Pd(4) we find that the organic part of the MOF is just as important for nanocluster adsorption as open Zn or Mg metal sites. Using the large number of clusters generated by the GA, we developed a systematic method for predicting the mobility of adsorbed clusters. Through the investigation of diffusion paths a relationship between the cluster's adsorption energy and diffusion barrier is established, confirming that Au clusters are highly mobile in the MOF-74 framework and Pd clusters are less mobile.     

Excitation levels and magic numbers of small parahydrogen clusters (N<or=40)

The excitation energies of parahydrogen clusters have been systematically calculated by the diffusion Monte Carlo technique in steps of 1 molecule from 3 to 40 molecules. These clusters possess a very rich spectra, with angular momentum excitations arriving up to L=13 for the heavier ones. No regular pattern can be guessed in terms of the angular momenta and the size of the cluster. Clusters with N=13 and 36 are characterized by a peak in the chemical potential and a large energy gap of the first excited level, which indicate the magical character of these clusters. From the calculated excitation energies, the partition function has been obtained, thus allowing for an estimate of thermal effects. An enhanced production is predicted for cluster sizes of N=13, 31, and 36, which is in agreement with the experiment.