Synthesis of Atom‐Precise Chiral Ag₁₄ Clusters Protected by Penicillamine Ligands

Abstract

Abstract A pair of atom‐precise chiral silver(I) nanocluster enantiomers ( Ag 14 ‐ d and Ag 14 ‐ l ) protected by d ‐ and l ‐penicillamine ligands is reported. Crystallographic structures reveal that the nanoclusters consist of a S 2− template and a chiral Ag 14 core stabilized by 12 penicillamine ligands. The penicillamine ligands show two binding fashions: (i) only thiolate coordination, and (ii) thiolate and carboxylate co‐coordination. Meanwhile, the two enantiomers show strong circular dichroism with opposite signals (mirror image relationship) owing to the chiral metallic core induced by chiral ligands, suggesting that the nanoclusters have well‐defined stereostructures as common chiral molecules do. The proton conductivity is also explored due to the existence of both amino groups and carboxylate groups from the penicillamine ligands, which is beneficial to construct H‐bond network for proton transfer.