Thiolate-Protected Nanoparticles via Organic Xanthates: Mechanism and Implications

The gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) stabilized with amine ligands are converted into robust thiolate-protected AuNPs in the presence of xanthates. This enables decoration of the AuNPs with a diversity of important functional groups, in particular, to introduce the thiol-sensitive unsaturated C-C bonds. The H-1 NMR study on the reaction mechanism provides a new insight into the great mystery of nanoscience-the fate of hydrogen upon the formation of the Au-S bond.