Preparation Methods of Metal Nanoclusters

Abstract

Metal nanoclusters, also known as ultrasmall nanoparticles, represent a promising class of nanomaterials due to their atomically precise characterizations and intriguing chemical-physical properties. The preparation is the cornerstone for advancing the nanocluster science, facilitating their structural determination, property investigation, and practical application. We have been devoted to exploring new and efficient approaches for the high-yield preparation of metal nanoclusters with customized structures and properties. We have proposed and developed four methodologies for the nanocluster preparation, including kinetic control, seeded growth, in situ two-phase ligand exchange, and metal exchange. More than 200 metal nanoclusters have been synthesized and structurally determined, laying the foundation for the elucidation of structure evolutions and structure-property correlations. In this concept, we emphasized our progress in proposing and developing the synthetic mythologies of metal nanoclusters. This Concept hopefully provides researchers attempting to study the preparation methods of metal nanoclusters with several feasible synthetic routes.