Atomically-Precise Synthesis and Structure Determination of Coinage Metal Clusters

Metal clusters smaller than 2 nm exhibit novel physicochemical properties that are very different from those of the bulk state and strongly depend on their size and structure. The essential requirement for the study of their basic properties and for practical applications is to synthesize clusters as stable compounds while controlling their size with atomic precision. This account summarizes the state-of-the-art methods of size-controlled synthesis and structure determination of gold and silver clusters whose surfaces are passivated by monolayers of thiolates. The origin of the high stabilities of these isolated clusters is explained in terms of the closure of electronic and geometric shells.