Understanding Au∼98Ag∼46(SR)60 nanoclusters through investigation of their electronic and local structure by X-ray absorption fine structure

Jing Liu; Katla Sai Krishna; Chanaka Kumara; Soma Chattopadhyay; Tomohiro Shibata; Amala Dass; Challa S. S. R. Kumar

doi:10.1039/C5RA27396J

Understanding Au_∼98Ag_∼46(SR)₆₀ nanoclusters through investigation of their electronic and local structure by X-ray absorption fine structure†‡§

Jing Liu,^ab Katla Sai Krishna,^ab Chanaka Kumara,^c Soma Chattopadhyay,^d Tomohiro Shibata,^e Amala Dass^c and Challa S. S. R. Kumar*^ab

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
E-mail: challa@fas.harvard.edu

^b Center for Atomic-Level Catalyst Design, # 324, Cain Department of Chemical Engineering, Louisiana State University, 110 Chemical Engineering, South Stadium Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA

^c Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, USA

^d Sector 10 ID, CSRRI-IIT, Advanced Photon Source, 9700 S. Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL 60439, USA

^e Materials Science, Kennametal Inc. 1600 Technology Way, Latrobe, Pennsylvania 15650, USA

Abstract

Here we report the electronic and local atomic structure of thiol-stabilized Au_∼98Ag_∼46(SR)₆₀ nanoclusters investigated by synchrotron radiation-based X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS). Au L₃-edge X-ray absorption near edge fine structure (XANES) was used to examine the d band character of Au, which is highly related to the electronic, magnetic and catalytic activities of Au. It was observed that the d band hole population of Au in Au_∼98Ag_∼46(SR)₆₀ was higher than that of bulk Au. The formation of the AuAg alloy was confirmed by extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS). The EXAFS results also suggested that Au atoms in Au_∼98Ag_∼46(SR)₆₀ nanoclusters preferred to occupy the metal core sites, while the Ag atoms were mainly on the surface.

Article information

https://doi.org/10.1039/C5RA27396J

Article type

Communication

Submitted

21 Dec 2015

Accepted

29 Feb 2016

First published

02 Mar 2016

Download Citation

RSC Adv., 2016,6, 25368-25374

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Understanding Au_∼98Ag_∼46(SR)₆₀ nanoclusters through investigation of their electronic and local structure by X-ray absorption fine structure

J. Liu, K. S. Krishna, C. Kumara, S. Chattopadhyay, T. Shibata, A. Dass and C. S. S. R. Kumar, RSC Adv., 2016, 6, 25368 DOI: 10.1039/C5RA27396J

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