Obstarczyk Patryk, Kundu Subhradip, Bürgi Thomas, Olesiak-Bańska Joanna
Institute of Advanced Materials, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Stanisława Wyspiańskiego 27, Wrocław 50-344, Poland.
Département de Chimie Physique, Université de Genève, 30 Quai Ernest Ansermet, CH-1211 Genève 4, Geneva, Switzerland.
J Phys Chem Lett. 2025 Jul 24;16(29):7331-7336. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.5c01543. Epub 2025 Jul 12.
Atomically precise nanoclusters find multiple applications in, for example, bioimaging or as catalysts due to their remarkable molecule-like properties which are tightly bound to their strictly defined structures. However, their physicochemical characterization and broad utilization in the aforementioned areas are often challenging due to the limited solubility. Herein, we report the synthesis of Au nanoclusters (NCs) capped with 2-mercaptomethyl-12-crown-4 ether, imparting amphiphilic properties that confer solubility in both polar and nonpolar solvents. UV-vis spectroscopy confirmed the stability of the Au framework in polar protic and apolar aprotic solvents. Moreover, FTIR analysis suggests that our supramolecular ligand responds to solvent polarity and protic/aprotic conditions, adjusting its conformation on the cluster surface. Furthermore, accompanying variations in photoluminescence underscore their potential utility as environmentally responsive polarity-sensitive probes. These findings establish a versatile Au nanocluster platform for investigating structure-property relationships in diverse chemical environments without requiring additional chemical modifications to the cluster structure.
原子精确的纳米团簇由于其与严格定义的结构紧密相关的显著分子样性质，在例如生物成像或作为催化剂等方面有多种应用。然而，由于溶解度有限，它们的物理化学表征以及在上述领域的广泛应用常常具有挑战性。在此，我们报道了用2-巯基甲基-12-冠-4醚包覆的金纳米团簇（NCs）的合成，赋予其两亲性，使其在极性和非极性溶剂中均具有溶解性。紫外-可见光谱证实了金骨架在极性质子溶剂和非极性非质子溶剂中的稳定性。此外，傅里叶变换红外光谱分析表明，我们的超分子配体会响应溶剂极性和质子/非质子条件，在团簇表面调整其构象。此外，光致发光的伴随变化突出了它们作为对环境响应的极性敏感探针的潜在用途。这些发现建立了一个通用的金纳米团簇平台，用于研究不同化学环境中的结构-性质关系，而无需对团簇结构进行额外的化学修饰。
