High-resolution crystal structure of a 20 kDa superfluorinated gold nanocluster
Dr. Claudia Pigliacelli, Prof. Valentina Dichiarante, Prof. Francesca Baldelli Bombelli, Prof. Pierangelo Metrangolo, Prof. Giancarlo Terraneo and others have recently published an article on Nature Communications about "High-resolution crystal structure of a 20 kDa superfluorinated gold nanocluster".
The full paper can be found at the following link: High-resolution crystal structure of a 20 kDa superfluorinated gold nanocluster.
Abstract. Crystallization of atomically precise nanoclusters is gaining increasing attention, due to the opportunity of elucidating both intracluster and intercluster packing modes, and exploiting the functionality of the resulting highly pure crystallized materials. Herein, we report the design and single-crystal X-ray structure of a superfluorinated 20 kDa gold nanocluster, with an Au25 core coated by a shell of multi-branched highly fluorinated thiols (SF27) resulting in almost 500 fluorine atoms, i.e., ([Au25(SF27)18]0). The cluster shows a switchable solubility in the fluorous phase. X-ray analysis and computational studies reveal the key role of both intracluster and intercluster F···F contacts in driving [Au25(SF27)18]0 crystal packing and stabilization, highlighting the ability of multi-branched fluorinated thiols to endow atomically precise nanoclusters with remarkable crystallogenic behavior.
How to cite:
Claudia Pigliacelli, Angela Acocella, Isabel Díez, Luca Moretti, Valentina Dichiarante, Nicola Demitri, Hua Jiang, Margherita Maiuri, Robin H. A. Ras, Francesca Baldelli Bombelli, Giulio Cerullo, Francesco Zerbetto, Pierangelo Metrangolo & Giancarlo Terraneo, High-resolution crystal structure of a 20 kDa superfluorinated gold nanocluster, Nat Commun, 2022, 13, 2607
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29966-2
