An insight, at the atomic level, into the intramolecular metallophilic interaction in nanoclusters.

The intermolecular metallophilic interaction has been exploited to orderly aggregate nanocluster compounds into multidimensional assemblies, while the intramolecular metallophilic interaction was rarely reported. Herein, based on an Au 13 Cu 2 nanocluster template, the presence of the intracluster Au-Cu metallophilic interaction was beneficial to achieving enhanced near-infrared emission intensity and thermal stability.