Chemistry Department Seminar

Atomic Quantum Clusters (AQCs) are formed by a small number of atoms (< ≈ 150) and represent a new family of compounds with novel and fascinating properties, which strongly differ from both, bulk and nanoparticles of the same material. For example, fluorescent, magnetic, catalytic, etc. properties have been found in AQCs1, which are not exhibited for the same material in larger sizes. In the last years soft chemical methods have been developed to synthesize AQCs without using protecting or capping ligands2, which may hinder their properties. This offers now the possibility to explore their properties in detail. In this talk it will be firstly summarized the state-of-the art of the kinetic-control synthesis methods, explaining in detail the mechanisms involved in such methods3. To show the precise control on the size of AQCs, which can be achieved with these methods, we will explain the synthesis of monodisperse samples of Cu5-AQCs and Ag3-AQCs. Secondly, we will focus on some important applications of clusters in catalysis, highlighting the particular consequences in biomedicine4.