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Unraveling the long-pursued Au₁₄₄ structure by x-ray crystallography.

ABSTRACT: The transition from nanocluster to nanocrystal is a central issue in nanoscience. The atomic structure determination of metal nanoparticles in the transition size range is challenging and particularly important in understanding the quantum size effect at the atomic level. On the basis of the rationale that the intra- and interparticle weak interactions play critical roles in growing high-quality single crystals of metal nanoparticles, we have reproducibly obtained ideal crystals of Au₁₄₄(SR)₆₀ and successfully solved its structure by x-ray crystallography (XRC); this structure was theoretically predicted a decade ago and has long been pursued experimentally but without success until now. Here, XRC reveals an interesting Au₁₂ hollow icosahedron in thiolated gold nanoclusters for the first time. The Au-Au bond length, close to that of bulk gold, shows better thermal extensibility than the other Au-Au bond lengths in Au₁₄₄(SR)₆₀, providing an atomic-level perspective because metal generally shows better thermal extensibility than nonmetal materials. Thus, our work not only reveals the mysterious, long experimentally pursued structure of a transition-sized nanoparticle but also has important implications for the growth of high-quality, single-crystal nanoparticles, as well as for the understanding of the thermal extensibility of metals from the perspective of chemical bonding.

SUBMITTER: Yan N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6184749 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Unraveling the long-pursued Au<sub>144</sub> structure by x-ray crystallography.

Yan Nan N Xia Nan N Liao Lingwen L Zhu Min M Jin Fengming F Jin Rongchao R Wu Zhikun Z

Science advances 20181012 10

The transition from nanocluster to nanocrystal is a central issue in nanoscience. The atomic structure determination of metal nanoparticles in the transition size range is challenging and particularly important in understanding the quantum size effect at the atomic level. On the basis of the rationale that the intra- and interparticle weak interactions play critical roles in growing high-quality single crystals of metal nanoparticles, we have reproducibly obtained ideal crystals of Au<sub>144</s ...[more]

PMID: 30333988

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Project description:The International Year of Crystallography saw the number of macromolecular structures deposited in the Protein Data Bank cross the 100000 mark, with more than 90000 of these provided by X-ray crystallography. The number of X-ray structures determined to sub-atomic resolution (i.e. ?1?Å) has passed 600 and this is likely to continue to grow rapidly with diffraction-limited synchrotron radiation sources such as MAX-IV (Sweden) and Sirius (Brazil) under construction. A dozen X-ray structures have been deposited to ultra-high resolution (i.e. ?0.7?Å), for which precise electron density can be exploited to obtain charge density and provide information on the bonding character of catalytic or electron transfer sites. Although the development of neutron macromolecular crystallography over the years has been far less pronounced, and its application much less widespread, the availability of new and improved instrumentation, combined with dedicated deuteration facilities, are beginning to transform the field. Of the 83 macromolecular structures deposited with neutron diffraction data, more than half (49/83, 59%) were released since 2010. Sub-mm(3) crystals are now regularly being used for data collection, structures have been determined to atomic resolution for a few small proteins, and much larger unit-cell systems (cell edges >100?Å) are being successfully studied. While some details relating to H-atom positions are tractable with X-ray crystallography at sub-atomic resolution, the mobility of certain H atoms precludes them from being located. In addition, highly polarized H atoms and protons (H(+)) remain invisible with X-rays. Moreover, the majority of X-ray structures are determined from cryo-cooled crystals at 100?K, and, although radiation damage can be strongly controlled, especially since the advent of shutterless fast detectors, and by using limited doses and crystal translation at micro-focus beams, radiation damage can still take place. Neutron crystallography therefore remains the only approach where diffraction data can be collected at room temperature without radiation damage issues and the only approach to locate mobile or highly polarized H atoms and protons. Here a review of the current status of sub-atomic X-ray and neutron macromolecular crystallography is given and future prospects for combined approaches are outlined. New results from two metalloproteins, copper nitrite reductase and cytochrome c', are also included, which illustrate the type of information that can be obtained from sub-atomic-resolution (?0.8?Å) X-ray structures, while also highlighting the need for complementary neutron studies that can provide details of H atoms not provided by X-ray crystallography.

Dataset Information

Unraveling the long-pursued Au144 structure by x-ray crystallography.

Publications

Unraveling the long-pursued Au<sub>144</sub> structure by x-ray crystallography.

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Unraveling the long-pursued Au₁₄₄ structure by x-ray crystallography.