Ligand effects on geometric structures and catalytic activities of atomically precise copper nanoclusters

The ligand effects have been extensively investigated in Au and Ag nanoclusters, while corresponding research efforts focusing on Cu nanoclusters remain relatively insufficient. Such a scarcity could primarily be attributed to the inherent instability of Cu nanoclusters relative to their Au/Ag analogues. In this work, we report the controllable preparation and structural determination of a hydride-containing Cu₂₈ nanocluster with a chemical formula of Cu₂₈H₁₀(SPh^pOMe)₁₈(DPPOE)₃. The combination of Cu₂₈H₁₀(SPh^pOMe)₁₈(DPPOE)₃ and previously reported Cu₂₈H₁₀(SPh^oMe)₁₈(TPP)₃ constructs a structure-correlated cluster pair with comparable structures and properties. Accordingly, the ligand effects in directing the geometric structures and physicochemical properties (including optical absorptions and catalytic activities towards the selected hydrogenation) of copper nanoclusters were analyzed. Overall, this work presents a structure-correlated Cu₂₈ pair that enables the atomic-level understanding of ligand effects on the structures and properties of metal nanoclusters.