Issue 42, 2021

Progress in controlling the synthesis of atomically precise silver nanoclusters

Abstract

Atomically precise silver nanoclusters with ultrasmall sizes (<3 nm) have received unprecedented attention due to their unique electronic structure and other excellent physicochemical properties in the field of nanochemistry. However, major challenges are controlling the synthesis and tailoring the composition and structure (including the core and surface coordination) of thiolate-protected monodisperse silver nanoclusters, which have become the prime interest of researchers in this field. The past decades have witnessed various synthetic methodologies commonly used to prepare thiolate-protected silver nanoclusters with a well-defined size and composition. In this short review, some studies on diverse synthetic strategies for synthesizing ligand-protected silver nanoclusters were highlighted. The most widely used synthesis methods for atomically precise silver nanoclusters of several types were classified, including one-pot synthesis, ligand exchange, anion templated synthesis, biomolecule mediated synthesis, two-step approaches, solid-state route and other synthesis methods. A breakthrough in synthetic methods will be beneficial to preparing atomically precise silver nanoclusters. Finally, an outlook was presented for silver nanoclusters with the desired structure and composition from three aspects: synthetic mechanism, structural diversity, and potential applications.

Graphical abstract: Progress in controlling the synthesis of atomically precise silver nanoclusters

Article information

Article type
Highlight
Submitted
09 Sep 2021
Accepted
06 Oct 2021
First published
07 Oct 2021

CrystEngComm, 2021,23, 7369-7379

Progress in controlling the synthesis of atomically precise silver nanoclusters

L. He and T. Dong, CrystEngComm, 2021, 23, 7369 DOI: 10.1039/D1CE01217G

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements