The emergence of metal nanoclusters
with atomically precise compositions
and structures provides an opportunity for in-depth investigation
of catalysis mechanisms and structure–property correlations
at the nanoscale. However, a serious problem for metal nanocluster
catalysts is that the ligands inhibit the catalytic activity through
deactivating the surface of the nanoclusters. Here, we introduce a
novel catalytic mode for metal nanoclusters, in which the nanoclusters
initiate the catalysis via single electron transfer (SET) without
destroying the integrity of nanoclusters, providing a solution for
the contradiction between activity and stability of metal nanoclusters.
We illustrated that the novel activation mode featured low catalyst
loading (0.01 mol %), high TOF, mild reaction conditions, and easy
recycling of catalyst in alkyne hydroborylation, which often suffered
from poor selectivity, low functional group tolerance, etc. Furthermore,
the catalyst [Au1Cu14(TBBT)12(PPh3)6]+ (TBBTH: p-tert-butylthiophenol) can be applied in highly efficient
tandem processes such as hydroborylation–deuteration and hydroborylation–isomerization,
demonstrating the utility of the introduced activation mode for metal
nanoclusters.
Nanoclusterzymes
In article numbered 2207936, Man‐Bo Li, Yan Zhao, Zhikun Wu, and co‐workers synthesize a novel atomically precise Au14 nanoclusterzyme, which can activate O2 to O2•− under visible light and leads to the blue color of 3,3′,5,5′‐tetramethylbenzidine (TMB). With the addition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), the blue color of (Au14 + TMB) solution disappears, but the further addition of organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) can recover the blue color. Based on this color on‐off, a nanoclusterzyme‐based dual colorimetric sensing is introduced.
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