Research Seminar:
Understanding the physical and chemical behavior of metals is paramount for their development into materials. The frontier of metallurgical research exists at the nanoscale, specifically in the size regime of 1-3 nm where species known as atomically precise clusters predominate. These can be viewed as soluble metallic crystallites with exact formula protected by a ligand monolayer (e.g. Au25(SR)18). Due to quantum size effects and their large size relative to classical coordination complexes, metal clusters exhibit properties reminiscent of both molecular and bulk systems yet cannot be accurately defined by models from either extreme. Within the past two decades thiolate-protected gold clusters have begun to demystify this unique chemistry, due in large part to their facile synthesis, ability to form single crystals, and overall stability. There is now a vast library of gold clusters to draw from, ranging from dozens to hundreds of metal atoms. This talk will explore the recent advancements we have made in understanding gold cluster alloys as well as cluster surface chemistry.
