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Polyoxometalates 2024, 3(2): 9140054 https://doi.org/10.26599/POM.2024.9140054
Research Article | Open Access | Issue | Published: 06 February 2024

Atomically precise M15 (M = Au/Ag/Cu) alloy nanoclusters: Structural analysis, optical and electrocatalytic CO2 reduction properties

Show Author's Information Along Ma,§,  Jiawei Wang,§,  Yifei Wang,  Yang Zuo,  Yonggang Ren,  Xiaoshuang Ma ( ),  Shuxin Wang ( )
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, China

§Along Ma and Jiawei Wang contributed equally to this work.

Keywords:
photoluminescence, alloy nanocluster, electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (eCO2RR)
Cite this article:
Ma A, Wang J, Wang Y, et al. Atomically precise M15 (M = Au/Ag/Cu) alloy nanoclusters: Structural analysis, optical and electrocatalytic CO2 reduction properties. Polyoxometalates, 2024, 3(2): 9140054. https://doi.org/10.26599/POM.2024.9140054
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

Herein, the overall structure of a nanocluster coprotected by phosphine and mercaptan ligands [Au7Ag8(SPh)6((p-OMePh)3P)8]NO3 (Au7Ag8) was reported. For comparison, a previously reported nanocluster with the same structure, but a different metal composition, [Au13Cu2(TBBT)6((p-ClPh)3P)8]SbF6 (Au13Cu2), was synthesized. In addition, their optical and electrocatalytic CO2 reduction properties were comprehensively compared. The results reveal that the photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of the Ag-doped Au7Ag8 nanocluster is 1.62%, which is seven times greater than that of the Cu-doped Au13Cu2 nanocluster (PLQY = 0.23%). Furthermore, the Au13Cu2 nanocluster demonstrates significantly enhanced catalytic selectivity for CO, with a CO Faradaic efficiency ranging from 79.7% to 90.4%, compared with that of the Au7Ag8 nanocluster (CO Faradaic efficiency: 67.2%–77.7%) within a potential range of 0.5 to −1.1 V. From structural analyses, the superior CO selectivity of Au13Cu2 is attributed to the copper dopant.


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About this article

Atomically precise M15 (M = Au/Ag/Cu) alloy nanoclusters: Structural analysis, optical and electrocatalytic CO2 reduction properties

Show Author's information Along Ma,§, Jiawei Wang,§, Yifei Wang, Yang Zuo, Yonggang Ren, Xiaoshuang Ma ( ), Shuxin Wang ( )
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, China

§Along Ma and Jiawei Wang contributed equally to this work.

Abstract

Herein, the overall structure of a nanocluster coprotected by phosphine and mercaptan ligands [Au7Ag8(SPh)6((p-OMePh)3P)8]NO3 (Au7Ag8) was reported. For comparison, a previously reported nanocluster with the same structure, but a different metal composition, [Au13Cu2(TBBT)6((p-ClPh)3P)8]SbF6 (Au13Cu2), was synthesized. In addition, their optical and electrocatalytic CO2 reduction properties were comprehensively compared. The results reveal that the photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of the Ag-doped Au7Ag8 nanocluster is 1.62%, which is seven times greater than that of the Cu-doped Au13Cu2 nanocluster (PLQY = 0.23%). Furthermore, the Au13Cu2 nanocluster demonstrates significantly enhanced catalytic selectivity for CO, with a CO Faradaic efficiency ranging from 79.7% to 90.4%, compared with that of the Au7Ag8 nanocluster (CO Faradaic efficiency: 67.2%–77.7%) within a potential range of 0.5 to −1.1 V. From structural analyses, the superior CO selectivity of Au13Cu2 is attributed to the copper dopant.

Keywords: photoluminescence, alloy nanocluster, electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (eCO2RR)

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Publication history

Received: 02 November 2023
Revised: 11 December 2023
Accepted: 07 January 2024
Published: 06 February 2024
Issue date: June 2024

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© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Tsinghua University Press.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

We thank the financial support provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 22171156 and 21803001), Taishan Scholar Foundation of Shandong Province (China), and Shandong Province Excellent Youth Innovation Team and Startup Funds from Qingdao University of Science and Technology.

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