Issue 6, 2016

The electrooxidation-induced structural changes of gold di-superatomic molecules: Au23vs. Au25

Abstract

The gold cluster compounds Au38(SC2H4Ph)24 and [Au25(PPh3)10(SC2H4Ph)5Cl2]2+ are known to possess bi-icosahedral Au23 and Au25 cores, respectively, inside their ligand shells. These Au cores can be viewed as quasi-molecules composed of two Au13 superatoms sharing three and one Au+ atoms, respectively. In the present work, we studied the structural changes of these gold di-superatomic molecules upon electrooxidation via spectroelectrochemical techniques, X-ray absorption fine structure analysis, and density functional theory calculations. The Au23 core was electrochemically stable, but the Au25 core underwent irreversible structural change. This marked difference in the stability of the oxidized states is ascribed to differences in the bonding scheme of Au13 units and/or the bonding nature of the protecting ligands.

Graphical abstract: The electrooxidation-induced structural changes of gold di-superatomic molecules: Au23vs. Au25

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
13 Nov 2015
Accepted
14 Jan 2016
First published
15 Jan 2016
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2016,18, 4822-4827

Author version available

The electrooxidation-induced structural changes of gold di-superatomic molecules: Au23vs. Au25

S. Matsuo, S. Yamazoe, J. Goh, J. Akola and T. Tsukuda, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2016, 18, 4822 DOI: 10.1039/C5CP06969F

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