Au133(SPh-tBu)52 Nanomolecules: X-ray Crystallography, Optical, Electrochemical, and Theoretical Analysis

Amala Dass, Shevanuja Theivendran, Praneeth Reddy Nimmala, Chanaka Kumara, Vijay Reddy Jupally, Alessandro Fortunelli, Luca Sementa, Giovanni Barcaro, Xiaobing Zuo, Bruce C. Noll

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

251 Scopus citations

Abstract

Crystal structure determination has revolutionized modern science in biology, chemistry, and physics. However, the difficulty in obtaining periodic crystal lattices which are needed for X-ray crystal analysis has hindered the determination of atomic structure in nanomaterials, known as the "nanostructure problem". Here, by using rigid and bulky ligands, we have overcome this limitation and successfully solved the X-ray crystallographic structure of the largest reported thiolated gold nanomolecule, Au133S52. The total composition, Au133(SPh-tBu)52, was verified using high resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The experimental and simulated optical spectra show an emergent surface plasmon resonance that is more pronounced than in the slightly larger Au144(SCH2CH2Ph)60. Theoretical analysis indicates that the presence of rigid and bulky ligands is the key to the successful crystal formation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4610-4613
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of the American Chemical Society
Volume137
Issue number14
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 15 2015
Externally publishedYes

Funding

FundersFunder number
U.S. Department of Energy
National Science Foundation1255519

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