Active metal (cadmium) doping enhanced the stability of inert metal (gold) nanocluster under O2 atmosphere and the catalysis activity of benzyl alcohol oxidation

Abstract

Compared with the inert metal (gold), the active metal (Cd) is much more prone to oxidation, leading to its high oxidation state. In this work, we found that doping the homogold Au25(SR)18 nanocluster with cadmium largely enhances its stability. The differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) analysis suggested that Cd doping raised the high occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy of homogold Au25 nanocluster, which led to stronger retention of its valence electrons. Cd1Au24(SR)18 nanocluster also exhibited much higher activity than homogold Au25 nanocluster in aerobic benzyl alcohol oxidation.