Fast and high-yield synthesis of thiolate Ag44 and Au12Ag32 nanoclusters via the CTAB reverse micelle method

Lubing Qin; Feng Zhang; Xiaoshuang Ma; Yun Tang; Guanyu Ma; Zhenghua Tang

doi:10.1039/d0dt03809a

Fast and high-yield synthesis of thiolate Ag₄₄ and Au₁₂Ag₃₂ nanoclusters via the CTAB reverse micelle method

Dalton Trans. 2021 Jan 14;50(2):562-567. doi: 10.1039/d0dt03809a. Epub 2020 Dec 22.

Authors

Lubing Qin¹, Feng Zhang², Xiaoshuang Ma¹, Yun Tang¹, Guanyu Ma¹, Zhenghua Tang³

Affiliations

¹ Guangzhou Key Laboratory for Surface Chemistry of Energy Materials and New Energy Research Institute, School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou, 510006, China. zhht@scut.edu.cn.
² Petrochina Yunnan Petrochemical Company Limited, Kunming, 650000, China.
³ Guangzhou Key Laboratory for Surface Chemistry of Energy Materials and New Energy Research Institute, School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou, 510006, China. zhht@scut.edu.cn and Guangdong Engineering and Technology Research Center for Surface Chemistry of Energy Materials, School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, 510006, Guangzhou, China.

PMID: 33351001
DOI: 10.1039/d0dt03809a

Abstract

To advance the development of atomically precise Ag and Ag-alloyed nanoclusters, it is critical to develop effective synthetic methods. Herein, we successfully extend the CTAB (cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide) reverse micelle method to synthesize a high-purity Ag₄₄(p-MBA)₃₀ (p-MBA = para-mercaptobenzoic acid) nanocluster and its corresponding alloy cluster Au₁₂Ag₃₂(p-MBA)₃₀ in a short time (15 min and 5 min), with a high yield of ∼83% and ∼85%, respectively. Furthermore, the mechanism regarding the reverse micelle method has been clearly elucidated. Through characterizing the reaction system by Raman spectroscopy and NMR spectroscopy techniques, it can be revealed that employing CTAB to form reverse micelles to construct a sealed chemical environment is critical for realizing the fast and high-yield synthesis.