National Univ. of Singapore (Singapore). Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
National Univ. of Singapore (Singapore). Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China). State Key Lab. of Multiphase Complex Systems
Univ. of California, Riverside, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China). State Key Lab. of Multiphase Complex Systems
Here, precise control of alloying sites has long been a challenging pursuit, yet little has been achieved for the atomic-level manipulation of metallic nanomaterials. Here we describe utilization of a surface motif exchange (SME) reaction to selectively replace the surface motifs of parent [Ag44(SR)30]4– (SR = thiolate) nanoparticles (NPs), leading to bimetallic NPs with well-defined molecular formula and atomically-controlled alloying sites in protecting shell. A systematic mass (and tandem mass) spectrometry analysis suggests that the SME reaction is an atomically precise displacement of SR–Ag(I)–SR-protecting modules of Ag NPs by the incoming SR–Au(I)–SR modules, giving rise to a core-shell [Ag32@Au12(SR)30]4–. Theoretical calculation suggests that the thermodynamically less favorable core-shell Ag@Au nanostructure is kinetically stabilized by the intermediate Ag20 shell, preventing inward diffusion of the surface Au atoms. The delicate SME reaction opens a door to precisely control the alloying sites in the protecting shell of bimetallic NPs with broad utility.
@article{osti_1489404,
author = {Yao, Qiaofeng and Feng, Yan and Fung, Victor and Yu, Yong and Jiang, De-en and Yang, Jun and Xie, Jianping},
title = {Precise control of alloying sites of bimetallic nanoclusters via surface motif exchange reaction},
annote = {Here, precise control of alloying sites has long been a challenging pursuit, yet little has been achieved for the atomic-level manipulation of metallic nanomaterials. Here we describe utilization of a surface motif exchange (SME) reaction to selectively replace the surface motifs of parent [Ag44(SR)30]4– (SR = thiolate) nanoparticles (NPs), leading to bimetallic NPs with well-defined molecular formula and atomically-controlled alloying sites in protecting shell. A systematic mass (and tandem mass) spectrometry analysis suggests that the SME reaction is an atomically precise displacement of SR–Ag(I)–SR-protecting modules of Ag NPs by the incoming SR–Au(I)–SR modules, giving rise to a core-shell [Ag32@Au12(SR)30]4–. Theoretical calculation suggests that the thermodynamically less favorable core-shell Ag@Au nanostructure is kinetically stabilized by the intermediate Ag20 shell, preventing inward diffusion of the surface Au atoms. The delicate SME reaction opens a door to precisely control the alloying sites in the protecting shell of bimetallic NPs with broad utility.},
doi = {10.1038/s41467-017-01736-5},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1489404},
journal = {Nature Communications},
issn = {ISSN 2041-1723},
number = {1},
volume = {8},
place = {United States},
publisher = {Nature Publishing Group},
year = {2017},
month = {11}}