Thermodynamic stability of ligand-protected metal nanoclusters

Michael G. Taylor and Giannis Mpourmpakis ()
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Michael G. Taylor: University of Pittsburgh
Giannis Mpourmpakis: University of Pittsburgh

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Despite the great advances in synthesis and structural determination of atomically precise, thiolate-protected metal nanoclusters, our understanding of the driving forces for their colloidal stabilization is very limited. Currently there is a lack of models able to describe the thermodynamic stability of these ‘magic-number’ colloidal nanoclusters as a function of their atomic-level structural characteristics. Herein, we introduce the thermodynamic stability theory, derived from first principles, which is able to address stability of thiolate-protected metal nanoclusters as a function of the number of metal core atoms and thiolates on the nanocluster shell. Surprisingly, we reveal a fine energy balance between the core cohesive energy and the shell-to-core binding energy that appears to drive nanocluster stabilization. Our theory applies to both charged and neutral systems and captures a large number of experimental observations. Importantly, it opens new avenues for accelerating the discovery of stable, atomically precise, colloidal metal nanoclusters.

Date: 2017
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:8:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms15988

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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15988

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