Accounts of Chemical Research
Accounts of Chemical Research
5 years ago

Interparticle Reactions: An Emerging Direction in Nanomaterials Chemistry

Interparticle Reactions: An Emerging Direction in Nanomaterials Chemistry
Atanu Ghosh, Thalappil Pradeep, Ganapati Natarajan, K. R. Krishnadas, Anirban Som, Ananya Baksi
Nanoparticles exhibit a rich variety in terms of structure, composition, and properties. However, reactions between them remain largely unexplored. In this Account, we discuss an emerging aspect of nanomaterials chemistry, namely, interparticle reactions in solution phase, similar to reactions between molecules, involving atomically precise noble metal clusters. A brief historical account of the developments, starting from the bare, gas phase clusters, which led to the synthesis of atomically precise monolayer protected clusters in solution, is presented first. Then a reaction between two thiolate-protected, atomically precise noble metal clusters, [Au25(PET)18]− and [Ag44(FTP)30]4– (PET = 2-phenylethanethiol, FTP = 4-fluorothiophenol), is presented wherein these clusters spontaneously exchange metal atoms, ligands, and metal–ligand fragments between them under ambient conditions. The number of exchanged species could be controlled by varying the initial compositions of the reactant clusters. Next, a reaction of [Au25(PET)18]− with its structural analogue [Ag25(DMBT)18]− (DMBT = 2,4-dimethylbenzenethiol) is presented, which shows that atom-exchange reactions happen with structures conserved. We detected a transient dianionic adduct, [Ag25Au25(DMBT)18(PET)18]2–, formed between the two clusters indicating that this adduct could be a possible intermediate of the reaction. A reaction involving a dithiolate-protected cluster, [Ag29(BDT)12]3– (BDT = 1,3-benzenedithiol), is also presented wherein metal atom exchange alone occurs, but with no ligand and fragment exchanges. These examples demonstrate that the nature of the metal–thiolate interface, that is, its bonding network and dynamics, play crucial roles in dictating the type of exchange processes and overall rates. We also discuss a recently proposed structural model of these clusters, namely, the Borromean ring model, to understand the dynamics of the metal–ligand interfaces and to address the site specificity and selectivity in these reactions.

Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.accounts.7b00224

DOI: 10.1021/acs.accounts.7b00224

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