A twisted bi-icosahedral Au-25 cluster enclosed by bulky arenethiolates

Ligation of 2,6-diphenylbenzenethiol (DppSH) onto Au clusters stabilized by poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) and subsequent core etching yielded a single cluster Au-25(SDpp)(11). High-energy X-ray diffraction measurement showed that Au-25 constitutes a core in Au-25(SDpp)(11). We propose a bi-icosahedral Au-25 core whose 22 Au surface atoms are capped directly by 11 bulky arenethiolates.