安徽大学朱满洲团队报道了切片可视化成像纳米转换。相关研究成果发表在2023年5月30日出版的《美国化学会杂志》。

金属纳米团簇是一类新兴的模块化纳米材料，已经提出了几种有效的策略来将团簇前体转化为具有定制结构和增强性能的新纳米团簇。然而，这种纳米团簇转化仍然处于“盲盒”状态，这意味着现有的中间体很难以原子精度进行跟踪。

该文中，研究人员提出了一种“切片可视化”方法，用于对从Au₁Ag₂₄（SR）₁₈到Au₁Ag₃₀（SR）₂₀的纳米团簇转化进行深入成像。利用这种方法，以原子精度监测了两个团簇中间体，即Au₁Ag₂₆（SR）₁₉和Au₁Ag₂₈（SR）₂₀。这四个纳米团簇组成了具有类似结构特征的相关Au₁Ag_24+2n（n=0，1，2和3）团簇系列─相同的Au₁Ag₁₂二十面体核，但进化的外围基序结构。

研究人员详细阐述了纳米团簇结构生长的机理─Ag2（SR）1的插入或Ag诱导的表面亚基的组装。所提出的“切片可视化”方法不仅为深入研究结构-性质相关性提供了一个理想的集群平台，而且有望成为获得纳米集群结构演化清晰信息的有力手段。

附：英文原文

Title: Slice Visualization for Imaging Nanocluster Transformations

Author: Xiao Wei, Haoqi Li, Hao Li, Zewen Zuo, Fengqi Song, Xi Kang, Manzhou Zhu

Issue&Volume: May 30, 2023

Abstract: Metal nanoclusters have served as an emerging class of modular nanomaterials. Several efficient strategies have been proposed for transforming cluster precursors into new nanoclusters with customized structures and enhanced performance. However, such nanocluster transformations have still been in a “blind box” state, meaning that the existing intermediates were hard to track with atomic precision. Herein, we present a “slice visualization” approach for in-depth imaging of the nanocluster transformation from Au1Ag24(SR)18 to Au1Ag30(SR)20. With this approach, two cluster intermediates, namely, Au1Ag26(SR)19 and Au1Ag28(SR)20, were monitored with atomic precision. The four nanoclusters constituted a correlated Au1Ag24+2n (n = 0, 1, 2, and 3) cluster series with comparable structural features─the same Au1Ag12 icosahedral kernel but evolutionary peripheral motif structures. The mechanism of nanocluster structure growth was mapped in detail─insertion of Ag2(SR)1 or Ag-induced assembly of surface subunits. The presented “slice visualization” approach not only contributes an ideal cluster platform for in-depth investigations of structure–property correlations but also hopefully acts as a powerful means for obtaining clear information on nanocluster structure evolution.

DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c02165

Source: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.3c02165