Issue 13, 2024

Possibilities and limitations of solution-state NMR spectroscopy to analyze the ligand shell of ultrasmall metal nanoparticles

Abstract

Ultrasmall nanoparticles have a diameter between 1 and 3 nm at the border between nanoparticles and large molecules. Usually, their core consists of a metal, and the shell of a capping ligand with sulfur or phosphorus as binding atoms. While the core structure can be probed by electron microscopy, electron and powder diffraction, and single-crystal structure analysis for atom-sharp clusters, it is more difficult to analyze the ligand shell. In contrast to larger nanoparticles, ultrasmall nanoparticles cause only a moderate distortion of the NMR signal, making NMR spectroscopy a qualitative as well as a quantitative probe to assess the nature of the ligand shell. The application of isotope-labelled ligands and of two-dimensional NMR techniques can give deeper insight into ligand-nanoparticle interactions. Applications of one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy to analyze ultrasmall nanoparticles are presented with suitable examples, including a critical discussion of the limitations of NMR spectroscopy on nanoparticles.

Graphical abstract: Possibilities and limitations of solution-state NMR spectroscopy to analyze the ligand shell of ultrasmall metal nanoparticles

Article information

Article type
Minireview
Submitted
14 feb. 2024
Accepted
24 may. 2024
First published
31 may. 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Nanoscale Adv., 2024,6, 3285-3298

Possibilities and limitations of solution-state NMR spectroscopy to analyze the ligand shell of ultrasmall metal nanoparticles

N. Wolff, C. Beuck, T. Schaller and M. Epple, Nanoscale Adv., 2024, 6, 3285 DOI: 10.1039/D4NA00139G

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