Nanoscopic structure and function of polymer‐protected metal clusters

Colloidal dispersion of polymer‐protected metal clusters were prepared by heat treatment of macromolecule‐metal complexes, composed of water‐soluble polymer and noble metal ions. The mixtures of two kinds of noble metal ions can provide polymer‐protected bimetallic nanoclusters with a core/shell structure by the same procedure. In contrast, bimetallic clusters with the inverted core/shell structure are difficult to be prepared by the similar procedure. A sacrificial hydrogen strategy has been successfully proposed for the preparation of the inverted ones. When copper or nickel ions were used as one of the elements to prepare bimetallic clusters, rather random alloy structured nanoparticles were produced. The catalytic activity of these bimetallic clusters is, in general, higher than that of the corresponding monometallic ones.