Atomically Precise Metal Nanoclusters for Luminescence, Sensing and Catalysis
This community researches ultra-small metal clusters with exact atomic counts, focusing on their optical properties and their use as catalysts or sensors.
The work centers on gold, silver, and copper nanoclusters stabilized by ligands or DNA, with a heavy emphasis on atomically precise structures. Recurring themes include fluorescent and near-infrared emission, aggregation-induced luminescence, and circularly polarized light. Applications span sensitive chemical and biological detection, bioimaging, and photocatalytic reactions such as hydrogen production and CO2 reduction. The literature frequently details ligand engineering to tune these optical and catalytic properties, as well as the structural evolution of the metal cores.
The largest share of the community's output is found in gold research, accounting for 1.7% of all gold research and 3,091 papers here. Silver research follows, representing 1.3% of silver research with 2,097 papers.
The community comprises 7,429 papers, publishing most frequently in Inorganic Chemistry, the Journal of the American Chemical Society, and Inorganica Chimica Acta.
Recent work continues to explore the synthesis of new cluster structures, such as gold quantum needles and high-nuclear silver nanoclusters, while expanding applications into asymmetric catalysis, DNA-templated sensing, and the modulation of near-infrared emission through surface chemistry.