Total structure determination of surface doping [Ag46Au24(SR)32](BPh4)2 nanocluster and its structure-related catalytic property

Abstract

The structure effect is widely present in the catalysis of alloy systems. However, the surface structure of this system is still ambiguous because of the limitations of the current surface characterization tools. We reported the x-ray crystallographic structure of the first and the largest AgAu alloy nanocluster with a doping shell formulated as [Ag46Au24(SR)32](BPh4)2. This nanocluster consists of an achiral bimetallic Ag2@Au18@Ag20 core protected by a chiral Ag24Au6(SR)32 shell. The catalysis experiments further revealed that the surface structure affects the selectivity of products significantly. This is the first case to find the structure effect in atomically precise alloy nanoclusters. Our work will benefit the basic understanding of bimetal distribution, as well as the structure-related catalytic property of alloy nanoclusters at the atomic level.