Nanoclusters Synthesized by Synchrotron Radiolysis in Concert with Wet Chemistry

Wet chemical reduction of metal ions, a common strategy for synthesizing metal nanoparticles, strongly depends on the electric potential of the metal, and its applications to late transition metal clusters have been limited to special cases. Here, we describe copper nanoclusters grown by synchrotron radiolysis in concert with wet chemistry. The local structure of copper aggregates grown by reducing Cu(II) pentanedionate using synchrotron x-ray beam was studied in situ by x-ray absorption spectroscopy. A detailed analysis of the XANES and EXAFS spectra, compared with DFT calculations and full-potential non-muffin-tin multiple scattering calculations, identified the nanocluster as Cu13 with icosahedral symmetry. The novel "charged" nanoclusters tightly bound to electron-donating amido molecules, which formed as a result of photo-induced deprotonation of ligand amines, were stabilized by irradiation. Monodispersive deposition of nanoclusters was enabled by controlling the type and density of "monomers", in remarkable contrast to the conventional growth of metallic nanoparticles.