An alkynyl-protected Ag13-xCu6+x nanocluster for catalytic hydrogenation

A novel alkynyl-stabilized silver-copper alloy nanocluster with the composition of [Ag13-xCu6+x((BuC6H4C)-Bu-t equivalent to C)(14)(PPh3)(6)](SbF6)(3) was prepared by the (PPh3)(2)CuBH4-mediated reduction approach. The nanocluster features a centred disordered-octahedral Ag7Cu6 kernel, which is protected by hybrid alkynyl and triphenylphosphine ligands. Structural comparison of this two-electron nanocluster with other alkynyl-capped Ag/Cu ones suggested that the structure of alkynyl ligands played an important role in dictating the structures of the resulting nanoclusters. The title cluster showed high performance in the catalytic hydrogenation of 4-nitrophenol, indicative of the bright future of cluster-based catalysts.

Automated summary

A novel alkynyl-stabilized silver-copper alloy nanocluster was synthesized and it was found that the structure of the alkynyl ligands played an important role in dictating the structure of the nanocluster. This nanocluster showed high performance in the catalytic hydrogenation of 4-nitrophenol.