Fractal Patterns in Nucleation and Growth of Icosahedral Core of [Au nAg44- n(SC6H3F2)30]4- ( n = 0-12) via ab Initio Synthesis: Continuously Tunable Composition Control.
Haifeng SuYu WangLiting RenPeng YuanBoon K TeoShuichao LinLansun ZhengNan-Feng ZhengPublished in: Inorganic chemistry (2018)
An ab initio one-pot synthesis of the bimetallic clusters [Au nAg44- n(SC6H3F2)30]4- (abbreviated (AuAg)44; n ≤ 12) is reported. The mixed-metal (AuAg)44 clusters, synthesized with different reactant Au/Ag ratios, exhibit a fractal-like distribution, suggesting that nucleation of the icosahedral core is a fractal growth process. X-ray crystallographic studies provided unambiguous evidence that the doped Au atoms occupy the icosahedral sites and the maximal doping is 12. The number of Au atoms ( n) in [Au nAg44- n(SR)30]4- (SR = SC6H3F2) can be continuously tuned from 0 to 12. A three-way correspondence between single-crystal structure, MS, and UV-vis is established, thereby facilitating future identification (finger-printing) of the alloy [Au nAg44- n(SR)30]4- clusters. The temperature, solvent, and temporal effects in the synthesis were also investigated.