All-thiolate-stabilized Ag42 nanocluster with a tetrahedral kernel and its transformation to an Ag61 nanocluster with a bi-tetrahedral kernel†
Abstract
A new silver nanocluster, formulated as Ag42(SBut)24, was prepared by a NaSbF6-mediated two-phase ligand exchange method. The total structure adopts a quasi-tetrahedral symmetry with a three-layered tetrahedral (Td) Ag10 kernel. Furthermore, with the ligand-etching method, Ag42(SBut)24 can be transformed into Ag61(SC6H11)40Cl, whose kernel structure corresponds to a face-fused bi-tetrahedral Ag14.